


Just 30 Days

by Prince_Darkcloud



Category: One Piece
Genre: Animal Transformation, Bottom Zoro, Fruit, Kitten, M/M, Transformation, Uke Zoro, neko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-31
Updated: 2012-01-03
Packaged: 2017-10-28 14:33:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 45,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/308894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prince_Darkcloud/pseuds/Prince_Darkcloud
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because of a mysterious fruit, Zoro gets turned into a kitten. But the adventure has only just begun for neko-marimo. Evil Marine captains and torturous subordinates, big scary oceans and an even scarier bath time! How will Zoro survive? Well, he's got Sanji to take care of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Fruit

**Author's Note:**

> One of my favorite completed fanfics so far ^^~
> 
> The latter chapters are much better than the former. I hope you stick around for them ^^~
> 
> -PD

Zoro was making Sanji’s basic rounds for the restock of food on the Going Merry, procuring the staple foods that even the idiot marimo knew how to shop for. He’d linger at some stalls for as much as an hour (specifically ones that sold delicious liquors) and others he wouldn’t even look at. He stared at Sanji’s list, as he got horribly lost at the far side of town.

“THEIF! THEIF!” A little girl ran past Zoro, almost running into him, she ran on ahead as a grizzled old man staggered up behind him, exhausted and out of breath, “That damn brat!” He puffed, “She stole my store’s prized possession!” He stood there huffing and puffing for a moment more before looking up at the swordsman. “Hey, you there! Could you retrieve that fruit for me?” He begged.

Zoro crinkled his nose at the unappealing man. “Sorry, not interested.” He turned and began to walk away.

The clerk looked around desperately, “I’ll award you a bottle of my finest sak—”

“I’m on it.” Zoro looked back in the direction of the poorly dressed girl and ran off in that direction. He had no time to worry over being bought over so easily by a bottle of sake, but he’d be damned if he turned down the free offer. He eventually found her outside of town breathing heavily underneath a shanty hand-crafted shack that this girl had obviously built herself.

“Hey, kid...”

“Stay back! This is mine and...and you can’t have it!” She held up a dull knife in defense, it was heavy for her, her arms kept shaking. “I—I need it!” Zoro glanced over her shoulder at an orange, unusual looking fruit.

“I need to take back what you stole.”

“A pirate shouldn’t lecture me about stealing.” She stuck out her tongue.

Zoro looked at her, completely unamused. “What did you take?”

She looked away for a moment, a serious expression crossing her young face. “...a—a devil’s fruit, b-but I did it to protect my brother!”

“Oh?” Zoro had a doubt in his mind that a devil’s fruit would be that easy to steal, much less in plain sight in an everyday grocery. Pirates would’ve brought that place to the ground ages ago to get that thing. Even with his doubts, he said nothing.

 The young girl could see the questioning gaze on the swordsman and felt compulsed to explain. “Because if—If I ate a devil’s fruit, I would be strong enough to help him, he’s already eaten a devil’s fruit and is treated like a monster. He’s too scared to use it, so if I had it, I would be able to help him! I’d finally be strong! I don’t have any friends or family other than him, so I have nothing to lose!”

“You know,” Zoro cut in, “I have a shipmate who is strong, and he didn’t have to eat a devil’s fruit. A pervert like him really shouldn’t be that strong.” He mused to himself, “Anyway, just work hard and build up your skills.” He looked at Takeshi, “And if your brother falls in the water he’s gonna need someone to save him.”

Tereshi laughed, “Yeah, cause he’s just a big dummy he’d go and fall in.” The little girl smiled up at Zoro broadly before looking back at the fruit. She picked it upgingerly and presented it to Zoro. “Here...sorry I took it.”

“S’ok, I’ll just go return it. See ya, work hard.”

“I will! Buh-bi, green-haired nii-chan!”

 _‘Well, I suppose I better hurry back. I’ve wasted enough time already.’_ He thought to himself as he tossed the fruit up and down casually in his hand. The groceries he had carried all that way were getting heavier by the moment. It wasn’t easy holding four boxes of supplies, plus the two heavy bags in one hand

“Gotta get back to the ship...” He mumbled to himself. He was almost out of the woodsy surroundings when he realized the fruit hadn’t come back down after he had thrown it. “Wha?”

The fruit, which was about the size of a small Clementine, had been caught in the beak of a rather large, clearly edible bird. “Free meat.” Zoro muttered, but before he could get to it, the bird had opened its beak to caw, and dropped the fruit. Right when Zoro looked up, the fruit flew into his gaping mouth and down his throat, causing him to choke. Eventually, after much dramatic flailing and chest pounding in attempts to dislodge the fruit, the disgusting tasting thing went down. _‘Dear god what have I done!? What the hell’s gonna happen to me?’_

Zoro ran back to the ship as fast as his legs could carry him, which in actuality was really quite fast. He jumped up on board only to find Nami still guarding the ship.

“NAMI!”

“What is it, Zoro?” said an annoyed navigator. Her peace had been breached so she was back on guard with the idiot swordsman.

“I need your _mew_!”

“Zoro? What’s the matter with you?”

“I think I _mew_ a devil’s fruit!”

“WHAAAT?! Zoro, are you SURE it was a devil’s fruit?!”

“That’s what the girl said but the shopkeeper didn’t say what it was...” Zoro meowed again. Nami could see little bumps rising on his head in two spots as the ears on the sides of his head began to disappear.

“Nam-mew!”

“Hang on Zoro, I’m gonna go check out that store and get the details ok!?”

“LOOK OUT!” Usopp called from the dock as most of the crew flew ungraciously into the deck. Zoro darted out of sight and hid in the mikan bushes.

“SET SAIL!” Luffy cried.

“WAIT!” Nami attempted to shout over the noise on deck. Zoro was still crouching under the bushes

“Uwah? Nani? Neh, Nami, where’s Zoro?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you he’s—”

“MREW!” A small green haired kitten with a white belly came leaping off the upper deck and onto the lower one. The small cat hissed at Nami. _‘Oh my god! Is that You Zoro?!’_ She looked more closely and saw three small holes where his earrings had been. They were well masked by his fur so no one could see them. He hissed at her, trying to communicate his desire for this to be kept secret.

“He’s still on shore.” She figured that he obviously didn’t want her to tell anyone about his predicament. _‘Male pride...sigh...gets in the way of everything.’_

“What? That idiot, at least he brought the groceries. I’ll go find him...” Sanji positioned himself to jump off the ship and go look for Zoro.

“No! Sanji-kun, he uhh...there’s something important he has to do. He can’t leave right now.”

“Then what the hell are we supposed to do Nami?!” Luffy whined, “I don’t wanna stay here.”

“He’s gonna be out there for a while, we can disembark as long as we return.”

“Navigator-san, might I talk to you for a moment?” Nami and Robin left the main deck and locked the door to the Galley. Robin grew an eye to watch for listeners.

“That fruit that was the big discussion downtown...did it have anything to do with Zoro’s disappearance?”

Nami sighed, “Yes, he accidentally ate it, now he’s gone and turned into...that!” She gestured to what lay beyond the wall.” A commotion had started Nami could hear some of the argument but tuned out the rest.

“Hey Usopp can I hold the kitty? You’ve already tried, now it’s my turn!”

“Oi! Stop messing with that cat! What if its rabid, I can’t have you two getting rabies!”

“Chopper you’re so stingy, it hasn’t bitten me yet—OW MY NOSE!”

“That’s what you get for having such a long nose”

“Shut up, Sanji!”

Nami rubbed her head, “Anyway Robin, did you hear anything about the fruit?”

“I did, and what you’ll find will surely easy your nerves.”


	2. I'm Not Cute, Dammit

“Oh thank god Robin, what is it?” Nami sighed of relief; she could always count on Robin to find some of the best solutions to the hardest situations. If Robin hadn’t come, Nami would’ve died of stress.

“Well, it turns out that it was not a devil’s fruit that our swordsman consumed.”

“Huh? But-but Zoro—”

“—Consumed a chemically altered fruit that gives the temporary affect of a devil’s fruit. The consumer will be affected fully for about one month. It starts to wear off the few day, gradually working its way out of the user’s system. To date, the fruit has only been animal transformation. As a bonus, the consumer is not affected by water because it is not truly a devil’s fruit. The one Zoro consumed was merely a prototype: a small harmless animal and not a true fighting beast.”

“Wow, Robin, you really do thorough research.”

Robin simply smiled.

When the girls had finished their little discussion, they opened the door, all hell had...well, already broken loose. Luffy and Usopp kept trying to catch the cat, who anyone else would’ve noticed was much too dexterous for its age. They were pissed at it for scratching and biting them.

“Nami-san,” Sanji asked, “can we just eat it?”

“No, of course not.” She declined, horrified at the thought of eating her crewmate. Zoro ran into her legs and stopped short. She picked him up under his front legs so he couldn’t scratch her. “Aww, look at you!” An evil glint was shining in her eye, “You’re so CE~UTE!”

Zoro was pissed (and he thought being a cat was bad enough already). _‘CUTE!? YOU WITCH WOMAN, I’LL KILL YOU!’_ Of course, all that could be heard of Zoro’s protests we high-pitched mews and squawks. Sanji leaned over and picked the kitten up by the scruff and glared at it. The kitten glared back, the tip of his tail twitching angrily.

“God, his personality is just like that damn Marimo. Looks like him too, except cute.”

“Hiss!” Zoro swatted at Sanji’s face and started to struggle again. _‘Put me down, bastard! I’m not a stupid cat and I’m NOT CUTE! ARGH! DAMMIT!’_ He hissed at Sanji again.

Robin then felt that it was perhaps her turn to hold the little terror. “Don’t be mean, Cook-san.” She held him in her arm and started stroking him behind his ears. Zoro calmed down and just continued to glare. “There. Now for a name kitten-san.”

“FLOOFY!” Luffy shouted enthusiastically

“Floofy?” Everyone asked in unison.

 _‘Floofy?’_ Zoro mewed in disgust.

They all sweat-dropped, Zoro didn’t. He just glared.

 _‘God, Zoro would kill Luffy if he weren’t a cat.’_ Nami thought as she put her fingertips to her temples.

“Why Floofy, Captain-san?” Robin asked, her smile unwavering.

“Because he’s fluffy and it sounds like Luffy! He’s gonna be my cat!” Luffy yanked him out of Robin’s arms and started twirling him around. Zoro made faint mews of protest until Sanji took him again.

“Until we dock at the next Island, he will be YOUR...and Usopp’s...and Chopper’s responsibility. I’ll only feed him. That’s it. But try not to kill it, ok? I’m kind of against using cat meat in my food. Besides, you can’t make much with this puny little thing.” He turned the cat so it was facing him. Zoro hissed at him a growled the best he could. “Oi, oi. You’re gonna be living with us for a while. You might as well calm down.” Zoro at least stopped struggling and didn’t hiss at Sanji. He did still glare and with his cat eyes, it wasn’t hard.

Rumbling stomachs interrupted their heated stare. Both the cat, and Luffy, were hungry.

“All right, all right I’ll go get started on Dinner.” Sanji sauntered off with the kitten still firmly grasped by the scruff.

“Ah, Sanji-kun,”

“Yes my Nami-swan?” Asked the pining blonde.

“You shouldn’t hold it by the scruff too long, you’ll hurt it.” She commented, gracing him with a small smiling, remembering that the kitten in his hands was Zoro.

“Huh? Oh yeah. Uh, Nami-san, if it scratches up my new jacket will you give me a loan?”

“Sure Sanji-kun, I know EXACTLY where to get the money from.” Directing a smirk at kitty Zoro. ‘Oh nice one bitch: I scratch his stupid jacket and you’re gonna increase my debt.....damn witch woman.’ Zoro sighed in defeat as Sanji repositioned him in his arms.

“If you scratch behind his ears Cook-san it’ll help calm him down a little.” Robin commented, ever smiling.

Sanji looked down doubtfully down at the kitten. The kitten looked back up at him with a face that could only be Zoro’s. Sanji blinked and continued to make his way to the kitchen, scratching Zoro’s ears.

He put him down on the counter and got his skillets and knives out. He took fresh ingredients out of the fridge and started to cook. Zoro looked on without much interest until a small piece of fish came flying his way. Without thinking, he immediately pounced it and sunk his tiny claws into it. He realized that he was acting like an actual cat and wanted to get his pride back, but part of him told him not to let go incase it got away. So he quickly ate it, disregarding his human pride. He was gonna be a cat for a while, he might as well get used to it.

‘Mmm.’ He purred. He looked back up at Sanji expectantly awaiting more food.

“Oi, this food is going to be for the ladies and the idiots of the ship. You’ll get your own later.” Sanji went back to seasoning the fish. All the while stirring vegetables in a pan: adding a squirt of this and a sprinkle of that.

Zoro rested his head in his paws and sulked, still wanting more of that delicious fish.

“Here.” Sanji tossed another tasty morsel his way and caught it mid-flight. It wasn’t meat but he ate it anyway. He gave Sanji a disapproving look after having been fed some vegetable instead of the fish he had been expecting. _‘God, snap out of it! What does it matter, baka-cook.’_ Despite his internal scolding, Zoro decided to get back at the cook. _‘What can I do to piss that stupid curly eyebrow off...’_

“Sanji-kun, is dinner almost ready?”

_‘Ah...easy enough.’_

“Ah, Mellorine! Yes my lovely maiden, you meal shall be ready momentarily.”

 _‘...This is gonna wreck my pride. Damn...what should I...bah, I can blame it on being turned into a cat. Heh, and people call me stupid.’_ Zoro was about to jump down from the counter, but abruptly stopped realizing how high up he was. He mewed in surprise and he back up away from the edge, right into a hot skillet that had been placed on the counter to cool. He yelped and ran away from the searing pain, right into the sink that was filled to the brim with dishwater. He had bits of food stuck to him and it was absolutely disgusting. He climbed out looking miserable. He huddled into himself but still attempted to glare at Sanji who was laughing hysterically. He scooped Zoro up in his hands and carried him out the door.

“My sweet ladies, I apologize for the inconvenience, but I must rid the disruptive ball of fur as he disgraces the presence of my lovely maidens.”

“Thank you Sanji-kun. That’s very sweet of you.” Nami’s compliment sent Sanji wriggling to the floor. Resuming composure, he took Zoro into the bathroom and filled up the sink.

‘Whoa, whoa whoa...who said anything about a BATH!?!’ Zoro looked up at Sanji, eyes wide, _‘Holy SHIT! Sanji’s gonna give me a—a BATH!!!’_

“Ok neko-marimo. Time for a bath.”

 _‘NOOOO! That is wrong! That is just plain WRONG!’_ Zoro started struggling again. Sanji just thought that the little tyke was afraid of water, so he drained some if it and forced the stubborn cat in the water. Zoro struggled to get free, but it was useless. No matter what he tried to do, he simply wasn’t strong enough to fight back anymore.

He sat sulking as Sanji began to delicately rub at Zoro’s fur.

“Mrew.”

“I know, I know, but you’ll all dirty, I have to get you cleaned up. A cute widdew wady should be mowe caweful and not get aw dirty. (A cute little lady should be more careful and not get all dirty)”

“Hiss! Mreoow!” _‘How dare you call me a woman!’_

Sanji lifted Zoro out of the water and...examined him. Zoro protested loudly with a series of shrieks and squawks. “Ah, you’re a boy. Sorry buddy.” Zoro huffed with an indignant sniff and proceeded to allow Sanji to bathe him.

Sanji worked his way up Zoro’ body to his head. Zoro couldn’t help, but lean into the scrubbing. It felt nice. In the vague memories of his childhood, he could remember his mother stoking his head as he fell asleep. Sanji was scrubbing behind his ears, and even though Zoro hated the man, he didn’t mind being scratched on the head.

He snapped out of his daze when the rubbing stopped and a splash of warm water attacked him. He moved out from under the faucet and proceeded to hiss at it violently.

Sanji laughed, “You’re not the sharpest knife in the drawer are you? You keep running into things, baka neko-marimo.” Sanji’s laughing face turned into a look of annoyance. “Baka Marimo, going off and training. He doesn’t need it; he’s so strong already.” Zoro glared at him and twitched his tail irritably.

 _‘Bastard...admitting I’m strong behind my back...asshole...’_ “Mreeoooooww” Zoro let out a looong mew. Proclaiming that he was quite done with his bath and would like to get back to dinner.

“Hmm? Ah, sorry.” Sanji picked up the hairdryer, set it on ‘max,’ and turned it on. Zoro looked like he was going through a wind tunnel. All of his green fur flew straight back, and his ears were flattened against the top of his head with his eyes shut tight. The dryer moved around his small frame causing him to shift his weight to keep balance. Then a large firm hand started to rub him rigorously.

“Mew! Mre-ew! Hiss!” _‘Gah! Sanji! Oi, idiot! STOP!’_

His protests went unnoticed as Sanji continued to dry when he was done, he laughed in such a way that made Zoro suspicious. He lifted Zoro up so he could see in the mirror,

“Look at you Neko-Marimo, you look so funny.” He held Zoro up next to his face so he too could share the humor, or the horror (depending on which position you were in) of Zoro’s new rounded, fuzzy shape.

“You look like Chopper in Guard Point” Sanji chuckled.

‘Oh, if I were only human, I would kill you.’ Zoro thought as he hissed in disgust at his reflection.

“Well, c’mon, let’s get you back to the lovely ladies.” Sanji dashed back to the galley as fast as his legs would carry him.

Zoro had almost completely forgotten about his revenge on the cook, and after what he just did to his fur, he certainly wasn’t going to forget to go through with it.

Sanji burst open the door. “I have returned oh fallen angels! The little monster is now clean.” He lifted Zoro by the scruff to show that he had completed the task for Nami-san and Robin-chan. The covered their mouths as they tried to suppress giggles, after all, they still knew it was Zoro under all that fur.

“Cook-san, I will hold the kitten for you until you have finished with dinner.”

“Ah, thank you Robin-chwan!” He handed Zoro to Robin and fluttered over to finish with dinner.

‘Ah perfect: stealing his ladies shouldn’t be a problem. It’ll piss him off too.’ Zoro chuckled evilly to himself as he smiled an evil cat grin. He thought for a second, thinking about what is was that cats did when they waned attention. _‘Ugh...’_ he thought, _‘but it’ll be worth it...it better be...’_ Zoro looked up at Robin with the biggest pair of eyes he could manage. Robin was surprised to say the least, but she assumed it was the cat’s instincts taking over so she took it in stride.

She smiled, “Look at how cute you are.” She said in a slight singsong voice. Zoro jumped from her lap onto the table. He noticed a loose string on Nami’s sweater.

He found it irritatingly alluring. He wanted nothing more than to attack it, but immediately pushed the thought out of his head and scolded himself for even thinking of doing that, but then he though, _‘Cats like string right?....so...then its ok.’_

He stalked, set back on his hunches, and pounced. But before he could reach it, Nami had lifted her arm off the table for emphasis in an explanation. He looked up and there it was, dangling so teasingly. He leapt up and pounced again. He caught it between his teeth and brought it down with him, unraveling a little more of Nami’s sleeve.

“Ah, Zo—kitty! Bad!” She scolded trying to cover her mistake. Zoro did ‘the eyes’ again, and Nami too was surprised at first, but also took it in stride. She broke off the string and dangled it in front of Zoro. As soon as he pounced, she moved it again.

 _‘Good training...’_ Was Zoro’s excuse for participating in such a fun, yet ridiculous game.

“Ahh, if only I could be that little terror and have those two gorgeous ladies pining over me!” Sanji sighed dramatically for effect. Zoro stopped playing for a sec and glanced in Sanji’s direction. He did another cat smirk before continuing playing. Robin caught the smirk. ‘Oh, so that’s how it is Swordsman-san.’ She thought to herself as she reached over to rub the happy cat’s tummy.


	3. This Kitten Deal Sucks

After dinner was over and Luffy was FINALLY kicked out of the galley, Zoro stayed behind to get whatever scraps were left over for his dinner.

"You lucky bastard..." Sanji commented out of nowhere. Zoro pretended not to notice. "You get to have fun with those lovely ladies and have them swoon over you if you do so much a roll over." Zoro lapped at his plate, celebrating his minor victory. He licked his whiskers and yawned noisily. Telling Sanji it was time for his nap. Sanji didn't get the hint and started to walk out of the galley.

"Mrew!" _'Idiot, I can't jump down that far.'_ "MREW!"

Sanji turned around and grabbed him by the scruff. "Baka. You could've jumped." When Sanji stepped out on deck, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper immediately assaulted him.

"LEMME SEE 'IM! HE'S MY CAT! DON'T BE A PIG SANJI! Luffy whined, grabbing at the cat that scratched him every chance he got.

"HEY! He's OUR cat TOO you know Luffy!"

"DON'T TOUCH HIM! I NEED TO TEST HIM FOR RABIES AND OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES!"

"All right, all right here—OW! Baka Neko-Marimo..." He muttered the last part to himself, after Zoro dug in his claws in rebellion of being turned over to the others. But even through the commotion the others still heard his nickname for the small green ball of fur, even his lovely ladies heard.

"Neko-Marimo?" The trio in front of him asked.

Luffy laughed, not seeming to take it in the way the others had. "HAHA! Sanji you're funny. His name's _Floofy_ not Neko-Marimo! Dummy!" Chopper and Usopp sweat-dropped at their captain's...aloofness. Luffy was laughing whole-heartedly until Sanji kicked him clear off the Merry.

"WHO'S A DUMMY!" Sanji bellowed, after placing the kitten gently on the floor.

"GEH! LUFFY!" Usopp dove into the water to go fetch his captain.

Zoro was been sitting not far from the scene, his tail twitching from irritation. Chopper walked over to examine the ship's new pet, and after hearing Sanji's name for the tyke, he wanted to understand Sanji's logic behind the name. "He does bare a slight resemblance to Zoro, but mostly in hair and eye..color..." Chopper trailed off, realization striking him. After all, Robin was not the ONLY one who knew about these new chemically altered fruits.

"ZO—" Nami who had walked over to ask about Sanji's name for the kitten was about to scream, when one of Robin's hands promptly took care of Chopper's loud mouth.

Robin turned to Nami, "It looks like another one knows about Zoro's little predicament."

Sanji lit up a new cigarette and picked Zoro up from the floor, only to have Luffy and Usopp (who had miraculously returned to the Merry in record time) continue their assault, desperately trying to get Sanji to release the cat to them.

"Come _ooon_ Sanji! You SAID that it was gonna be OUR cat, not YOURS, Sanji." Luffy whined, stretching his arms even while Sanji ground his foot into Luffy's face.

Zoro was still not letting go, but if he held on too much longer, he'd have to buy Sanji a new jacket. Zoro pulled the innocent eyes on Sanji. He flattened his ears and made the most pitiful noise imaginable and tried to get Sanji to pity him and take him away from all the noise and ruckus (Zoro refused to think of it that way, but instead thought off it as skillfully tricking the enemy). Luckily, Sanji fell for it.

"Ah, Usopp, do you think you could uhh...you could uhh...make like...a uh, kind of bed, for this...thing? Or like...a scratching post? Luffy, you can help him."

"Uh, sure Sanji, but does the cat really need it?" Usopp was suspicious of Sanji's sudden request. He crossed his arms and quirked an eyebrow.

Sanji pointed to the claws that were still, regrettably, digging into his skin. "This little terror will probably start scratching at the wood of the ship, and also he'll need a place to sleep." Zoro glared up at the cook and made a point of gripping on tighter to Sanji's arm, and smirked when he saw Sanji wince out of discomfort. He didn't like being referred to as 'little' or...well, a 'terror' he didn't mind so much, but because it came form the cook's mouth, he found it irksome.

"Alright," Usopp dismissed with a wave of his hand, "Just make sure he doesn't scratch the ship."

"OOOH! What can I do? What should I do, Usopp! Neh, neh Usopp?" Luffy continued his pestering until they were both out of earshot and Sanji retreated down to the men's quarters. Zoro had released his grip and was being held more comfortably in Sanji's arms.

"You better be pretty damn thankful you spoiled brat."

Zoro purred in appreciation. ' _Wait, purred? Since when have I started PURRING?'_

He was set down on the couch, but immediately scampered over to his hammock and tried to climb in. He crouched down and leapt with his surprisingly powerful back legs and hooked on to the lowest hammock. He swung himself and hooked his back claws onto a piece of rope a little further down. He managed to attach himself to it, but not actually get on. He was hanging upside by all four paws mewing miserably. _'Great, now I can't even sleep in my own hammock, oh this cat deal is getting better and better.'_ He said to himself sarcastically. Sanji bent over and pried Zoro off the hammock, ignoring his angry protests. He lay down on the sofa and placed Zoro on his chest. Zoro glared down at the cook but otherwise allowed himself to be placed.

"Mew." Sanji started petting him on his head again. _"Oh, god that feels nice.'_ Zoro lay down but continued leaning into the touch. The petting was soon accompanied by soft low purring that sounded an awful lot like a familiar set of snores. Sanji fell asleep petting the little devil.

About an hour later, Zoro woke up from his dreamless sleep and decided to venture upstairs to try and persuade his crewmates to give the ship's new pet some booze. Momentarily forgetting where he was, Zoro rolled over and fell on the floor with a dull 'thud.' Blinking blearily, he yawned and started to make his way upstairs. When Zoro finally reached the stairs, his mind had cleared of some of the fog and was now functioning about as well as a slightly rusted machine. Zoro sat back on his hunches and launched himself into the air, determination glimmered in his big, glossy, cat eyes. Making contact with the wood, Zoro extended his claws. Seeing as only his first half made it over the edge of the step, the rest of him dangled helplessly, relying solely on the strength of his front claws to keep him from falling back to square one. Zoro bent his knees, extended his back claws, and searched around for the wood of the step. Once his claws caught he was able to push his furry little bum over the edge of the stair. Zoro beamed at his accomplishment, but then sunk down in realization: he still had about 10 more steps to go.

' _Yosh, I can do this.'_ And thus, Zoro began his exhausting adventure.

30 Minutes Later

Zoro was panting once he got to the last step. He sat at the top, looking down at what he had accomplished. _'I did it. Finally I can go get...'_ Another complication had made itself known. Zoro had no way of opening the door. Eye twitching like mad, Zoro cursed his own stupidity at not realizing this BEFORE he had climbed the stairs. Zoro sighed in defeat and, with his ears and tail drooping, began the descent. As he was about to leap from the top step, the door swung open, effectively smacking Zoro square in the ass, flinging him down the entire flight of stairs.

' _GYAAAAAHHH!'_

"MREEEEEEEW!"

Bouncing down the last 3 stairs or so, Zoro finally came to a stop with a skid. He sat up and turned his head to get a view of the offender so he could rip him to shreds with his fearsome claws and teeth. Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp had come downstairs to go to bed. Luffy was already climbing into his hammock, and Usopp was carrying down a large box with a wooden post sticking out of the top, which was blocking his view of what was in front of him. Zoro guessed that this was supposed to be his new sleeping quarters. Last to come downstairs was Chopper. Chopper seemed to be the only one to notice the seething creature that sat at the bottom of the stairs.

Chopper looked around, making sure no one would hear their conversation. "Neh, umm...Zoro...do you need something? I saw you get thrown down the stairs, are you all right?

' _Yeah...super."_

"Mrow..."

"Ah, I see."

' _Huh? Or...right...Chopper can understand other animals. Great, now maybe I can finally get some Sake.'_ Zoro expressed this to Chopper.

"Oi, Chopper, what are you doing? Talking to that cat..." Usopp whispered, as to not wake Sanji, who had been asleep the entire time.

"Huh? Nothing! Eheheh." Chopper nervously sweat-dropped, desperately trying to figure out a way out of the situation, "Oh! I was uhh...going to finally test the cat for any diseases and treat them properly. I'll be joining you shortly." And with that, Chopper dashed upstairs, leaving Usopp to suspiciously ponder Chopper's strange behavior.

\---Upstairs---

"You know Zoro, I can't give you as much as you usually drink."

"Just hurry up and pour it! I've been dying for a drink all day." Zoro sat in front of a saucer, eagerly awaiting his prolonged bout of alcohol. His big eyes shined and his tail twitched in anticipation as Chopper lowered the bottle and slowly poured some of it onto the plate. Zoro leapt up and drank happily, enjoying every sip.

"Hmm...you know, there are lots of things that cats can't eat. I'm going to have to write a list of what you can and cannot have. I'd like to ween you off alcohol all together." Zoro licked his whiskers and smirked up at Chopper.

"I'll be fine Chopper," A loud squeaky yawn interrupted Zoro's sentence, "Now can you please take me to bed?"

\---The Next Morning---

Sanji awoke the next morning feeling incredibly refreshed. He had gone to bed earlier than usual and he realized that the extra sleep really did wonders for his mood. He sat up with a small smile on his face, looking forward to cooking the morning meal. He cracked his back and started to walk upstairs. But something was nagging at him from the back of his mind. Sanji turned around and took a look around the room. All the hammocks were empty and there was no trace of the Neko-Marimo. Although Sanji did notice the new bed for the cat that he had asked Usopp to build. He walked over to inspect it more closely.

" Hmm...not bad. Better than where we sleep." Sanji straightened himself back up and turned to go upstairs. "Where is everyone...Why did no one wake me up?"

"SAAAAANNJIIIIII!"

' _Ah...there it is.'_

"Hai, Luffy. I'm on my way." Sanji picked up his jacket and trotted upstairs. Two of the three men were on the main deck, surrounding something. Seriously afraid that the poor little beast was being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, Sanji—trying to make it look like he didn't care—hurried over and peeked over their shoulders to see what had captivated their attention.

"Oh, Sanji. Do you want to help?"

"We're going to make an obstacle course for Floofy. Eeh hee!" Luffy said through a grin.

Sanji blinked, "Why?"

"Eh, mostly cause we're bored." Usopp said with a shrug.

"Then, if he's not with you, then where is he?"

"Hm? Oh, you mean the beast? Eh, he's inside with Robin, Chopper, and Nami."

"Thanks Usopp." Sanji hurried into the kitchen. "Robin-chwan, Nami-swan! Good morning!"

"Good Morning Sanji-kun."

"Good Morning Cook-san."

"Morning Chopper."

"Morning Sanji!" Chopper, Nami, and Robin all watched in silence as Sanji made his way over to the fridge to get a start on breakfast. Wary of the other's stares, he put down his supplies and turned around. Confusion written all over his face.

"What?"

"Ah..hahaha. N-Nothing Sanji-kun. What gave you that idea?" Nami giggled nervously. The three of them, including Zoro with the help of Chopper's translations, were discussing Zoro's predicament when Sanji had waltzed in. They were all afraid that he had heard something. But he hadn't so breakfast went on as scheduled...or rather...as scheduled as a crazy chaotic group of pirates' breakfast could be.

After breakfast ended, Sanji tossed a strip of bacon out onto the deck with Luffy chasing after it. Am incredibly effective method he had discovered a couple of days ago. With that, Sanji walked out of the kitchen, his little Neko-Marimo possessively held in his arms. Sanji went downstairs to lie down. Zoro saw his pet bed and sighed. It would be nice to go lay on that comfy pluch pillow and sleep for a while. He started to claw his way out of Sanji's arms, but the bastard held tight. Zoro growled in frustration.

"Baka, you can't jump from here, you'll hurt yourself.

Zoro, suddenly not liking the way Sanji underestimated him, jumped out of Sanji's arms.

"Marimo!"

Zoro landed gracefully on his four feet and smirked up at Sanji in an 'I told you so' sort of way. Then, Zoro suddenly felt a bolt of energy go coursing through his little kitty veins, no longer feeling the drowsiness brought on by a full stomach.

' _What is this?'_ And before he knew it, he dashed away from Sanji and all around the room.

"Oi, Neko-Marimo, what's gotten into you?" Every time Zoro came close, Sanji would reach out and try to grab the little tyke, but every time, Zoro managed to evade the grabbing hands.

' _Heh, you know, this is kinda fun...I haven't a damn clue as to why the hell I'm acting like such an idiot...bah, who cares.'_ During Zoro's euphoric state, he managed to climb up one of the support beams until he found himself stuck and out of Sanji's reach.

He had planned on looking down and smirking at the cook, but instead got incredibly nervous about how high up he was. He wasn't sure if he could safely get down on his own. He started to meow down to Sanji for help.

"Well, it's your own fault for climbing up there." Sanji commented casually as he lit up a cigarette. He intended to pretend like he didn't care, but the sound Zoro made was just so pathetic and scared, that he couldn't help himself. He climbed from hammock to hammock, almost falling on several occasions, until he was just below Zoro. Zoro sensed the safety of Sanji's body growing closer and he wanted to be in those arms again and have his head petted...no wait...that was a lie. He didn't REALLY want that...did he?

Sanji reached out and slid his hand under Zoro's tummy, gripping the small body firmly. "Gotchya."


	4. Did YOU Know?

Zoro sighed a little kitten sigh. He was back in Sanji’s big, warm hands and the exhaustion from earlier had returned to his body. He wasn’t sure he’d want to do something like that ever again. But maybe once in a while wouldn’t hurt, he just wouldn’t make the same mistake as before and would, instead, just stay on the floor where it was safe.

“Baka Neko-Marimo, going and climbing up that support beam. What were you thinking?" Sanji paused for a second and smirked, "Heh, if you’re anything like Zoro then you wouldn’t have been thinking anything at all.” Sanji chuckled at his own little joke and the distasteful face the cat was making.

‘ _Bastard.’_ “Hiss.”

Sanji lowered his laugh to a light chuckle and looked into the eyes of the kitten. “You’re so much like Zoro.” He smiled down affectionately at the small bundle of no longer annoyed fur. Zoro felt his face heat up. Sanji had never looked at him like that before and it was kinda weird. No, it was _really_ weird, especially since he was probably thinking about _him_ while making that…that _weird_ face. “Except cuter and not as annoying.” Zoro resented that statement and expressed this to Sanji with obviously displeased mewls and a not-so-serious attempt to scratch the cook's nose. Soon after he felt his lids droop and let out a squeaky yawn. Sanji smiled again—he seemed to be doing that a lot more often lately—and lowered the kitten into his new housing unit and started to stoke his tiny head. Sanji could feel soft purrs resonate through the body as he smoothed down the short, but very soft, fur.

“There you go Neko-Marimo.” Sanji scratched Zoro behind his ears as he fell asleep on the incredibly comfortable and warm pillow, dreaming of ripping apart bloodthirsty mice and battling demonic balls of yarn.

Sanji returned to the upstairs, enjoying the spray of the fresh sea breeze that greeted him once he stepped out into the open. He tilted his face towards the wind, feeling very contented and relaxed. But of course, when you’re on the Merry, that sort of thing never lasts for long. Usopp and Chopper came bounding around a corner, acting as if they were running for their lives, the huge smiles and tears of mirth ruining the affect of their ‘terrified’ screams.

“UWAAAAA! Zoro’s angry and wants to kill us!” Chopper cried, his hooves raised above his head.

Sanji took a step back, completely confused. _‘Zoro? How? But he...no...’_

“YAAAH!” Usopp shrieked, “Run for your lives!” Sanji scanned the ship, almost desperately, in search of the green hair that he had always loved hating. He heard study clunking that could only be the sound of Zoro’s boots. He saw one swing out from around the corner, followed by the dark pants and haramaki, the white shirt, and then the round head of…

“Luffy!?” Luffy shifted his gaze over to where Sanji was standing. Sanji stared back, looking confused if not slightly aggravated at his captain. _‘Where did he get Zoro’s clothes?’_

“Are you blind aho dart-brow? I’m Zoro.” Usopp and Chopper laughed and applauded at Luffy’s impersonation of the irate first mate. Sanji was absolutely livid. No one, and I mean _NO ONE_ other than Zoro was allowed to insult him like that. With Zoro, it was how they communicated. They were best frien-imies; so, such name-calling was allowed with the possible result of only a minor tussle. For anyone else to use the Marimo’s unoriginal insults was completely unforgivable.

“What..did..you..call..me?” Sanji growled out, shadows hiding most of his face, save for the eye that was shooting daggers.

“You wanna fight hentai-cook?” Luffy asked, trying his best to glare as Zoro might, drawing two sticks that were, apparently, supposed to represent Zoro’s katana. Usopp and Chopper were obviously having an inner battle: should they burst out laughing at Luffy’s hilarious imitation of Zoro’s ornery personality, or fear for their, and Luffy's as well, lives because of Sanji’s flaring temper? Seconds later they were rolling around the deck, tears gushing from their eyes while they tried to catch their breath from laughing so hard.

Sanji ground his teeth into the cigarette he was smoking and lifted and lifted his leg. “It’s…” He snarled swinging his left leg at Luffy’s bandana clad head, “Ero love-cook, you bastard!!!” Sanji raced from the lower deck to the upper deck, where Luffy had landed. “If you’re gonna pretend to be Zoro then at least do it right!” And with that, Sanji stomped off, not giving a second thought to what he said. But he did wonder where Luffy had gotten those clothes. “Oi, Luffy!” He called, seeming to be completely calm again as if the past couple minutes had never happened.

“Nani, Sanji?” Luffy asked through a swollen lip.

“Where’d you get those?”

""Ah~n. Where~ hmm..."

"Luffy!" Sanji started to shake his captain back and forth. He knew he was over reacting, but he was still angry with his captain's overly carefree attitude and was not in the mood for it.

“The mikan bushes!” Luffy finally exclaimed after his brain had been efficiently rattled. Sanji loosened his grip on Luffy’s shirt and twisted his head around to look at the bushes planted but 20 feet away.

‘ _The mikan bushes?’_ Sanji lost himself in his circulation of unanswered questions and thoughts that contradicted each other; he went down into the galley to prepare lunch, though breakfast had ended not even an hour ago, Sanji knew by now that there was never enough time to prepare a meal for his captain.

Nami and Robin sat comfortably on their respective deck chairs, going completely unnoticed throughout the entirety of the exchange. This caught them by surprise; since Sanji always took time to admire their perfect, bikini clad figures, it was incredibly unusual that he didn’t even bat an eye in their general direction.

“Neh, Robin…I think there’s something up with Sanji-kun. He didn’t notice us at all.”

“That was definitely out of character for him, Navigator-san.” Robin commented idly, not even looking up form her book.

“What could be bothering him? He hasn’t even brought us our drinks.”

“So _that_ was it.”

“But of course.” Nami said numbly as she waved it off.

Robin chuckled at Nami’s offhanded comment. “Perhaps we should do some ‘investigating,’ Navigator-san?”

Nami smirked; giving a look that could easily be described as nothing below mischievous.

\---

Several hours later, lunch came about. The entire crew, including their new green pet, was seated comfortably in the small dining area. Zoro dug into the *pureed entrails Sanji had specially prepared for him, though he claimed that he just used what was left over from the meal to feed the tiny tyrant. Zoro didn’t seem to mind. It wasn’t better than what Sanji normally prepared for the male portion of the crew, but it definitely wasn’t worse. Suddenly, a big hand was pinned down by a fork, fingers only a hair's breadth away from Zoro’s dish.

“Luffy, you bastard, you’re not taking food from the cat either!” Sanji defended, not releasing his hold until Luffy started to pull his hand away. Zoro looked at Luffy with a smug grin on his face, making Luffy fume.

“Ah! You greedy neko-bastard!” And with that, a heated game of ‘cat and mouse’ ensued. Typically the _cat_ was the one who chased, but in this scenario that was hardly appropriate. Everyone scrambled for their plates, keeping guard of their food while Luffy chased the cat around, over, and under the table. When Nami decided she’d had enough, she smacked Luffy over the head and caught the kitten by the scruff, tossing him into Sanji’s arms.

“Take better control of that thing, Sanji-kun! Look at the mess he and Luffy caused!” And with that, lunch was over.

Nami assigned Sanji to watch duty and sent him up to the crow’s nest. “Everyone,” she called, “We’ll be reaching an island within a week! We’re at an odd spot with the wind currents so it should be fairly calm for the next couple days and—“

“Oi! Nami!” Luffy called, obviously displeased with her decision, “We were supposed to go back for Zoro! Why are we leaving him!?” Luffy was quite angry, and reasonably so. He felt as if Nami had just taken off and abandoned their nakama on an island.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be back with us in about a month!”

“I don’t mean to be rude Nami-san,” Sanji called down from the rigging, kitten in arms as always, “but Zoro has absolutely no sense of direction. How is he going to find his way? We’re on the Grand Line no less.”

Sanji could feel the kitten vibrate with a low growl. _‘Baka **Question.’_ Zoro thought.

Nami too, took on a slightly irritated tone, but looked at them with complete seriousness. “Trust me.” Sanji and Luffy looked at each other, still unsure, but decided that they should have faith in Nami, even though they still had lingering doubts.

“I still think we should go back, but I trust you Nami.” Luffy said before he nodded his head in dismissal.

When Sanji climbed up into the little bucket of a crow's nest and Luffy left to go do god knows what, Usopp approached Nami, smiling knowingly, “Yeah, it’d be kinda pointless to go back for a guy that’s already here.”

“Huh? Usopp? How…”

Usopp chuckled, crossing his hands over his chest, and sticking his nose in the air before undoing his stance to point straight up and smile down at her, clearly confident in what he was about to say, “That green kitten is Zoro, right?”

“W-What? How did…” Nami stopped talking for a second before pulling Usopp by the nose until she was sure they were out of earshot of Luffy and Sanji, who seemed to be the only ones who hadn't figured it out, and completed her question.

“Oh Nami, Nami, Nami. I could see right through your lie from the very beginning. I mean seriously: a green kitten shows up—a _green_ kitten—the afternoon Zoro goes missing. Also, it came springing out of the mikan bushes, where Luffy found his clothes.”

“Alright, alright. It’s true. Zoro ate some sort of weird fruit and now he’s gone and turned into that.”

“So he’s a become zoan type? I think we have more hammers than humans on this ship now…actually, Zoro was never really human to start with...” He mused.

“No, it wasn’t a devil’s fruit.” They continued on with the discussion until Nami had finished her explanation of what she knew of the situation.

“Ahh, I see.” Usopp placed a hand on his chin and looked up at the sky thoughtfully. “But there’s one thing bothering me.

"What?"

"Sanji’s smart right?”

“Yeah, I suppose so.” Nami crossed her arms and shifted her weight so it was all on one foot as she stuck out a hip: the pose of impatience and annoyance if there ever was one.

“Then how is it that he hasn’t figured it out yet?”

Nami looked at Usopp furrowing her brow before widening her eyes, “You’re right! Sanji-kun would normally pick up on these things right away. I wonder…” The pair peaked around the corner and saw Sanji handing fishing poles to Luffy and Chopper with Zoro nestled comfortably on his shoulder. “Neh, Usopp.”

“What?” They went back into hiding as Sanji turned around to climb back up into position.

“I think he knows.”

 **  
_To Be Continued..._   
**


	5. Our Not So Secret Hiding Spot

That day, Nami and Usopp had come to a mutual agreement: they were on a mission to find out whether Sanji knew about Zoro's predicament or not. They had also enlisted Chopper and Robin to join them. Chopper could ask blatant questions without anyone giving a second thought, and Robin was the ultimate spy. After about a week of watching, the team disbanded, having found nothing. They had forgotten that Sanji was an excellent tactician as well, and had probably noticed that something was up. This had encouraged their search at first, but it proved hopeless. For now.

The day after Nami and Usopp had disbanded their little sleuth group, they were back on the upper deck behind the mikan bushes, talking quietly amongst themselves. "I just don't get it…How could he not know?" Nami questioned. Peeling one of her beloved fruits and popping a section in her mouth.

Usopp sighed, reaching for a fruit of his own, but getting his hand promptly slapped away. Nami handed him a section of her own orange and he happily ate it before responding. "I have no idea. Maybe the thought never crossed his mind. Since becoming a cat, Zoro's personality has kinda changed too, ya know?" Nami agreed. Zoro had been getting more playful recently and had become increasingly clumsy whenever he did anything, upping the 'cuteness factor' beyond what was normally acceptable for the swordsman, if there had ever even _been_ a cuteness factor to begin with. Nami thought about these things for a moment before motioning for Usopp to follow her.

The pair slinked around the outside of the galley, crouching under the windows until they came to the door, and simultaneously peaked though the window. Sanji was standing at the counter chopping greens while Zoro tried to look inside a bowl that had been placed near by. He reared back before standing up on his back feet, stretching himself out so he could place his front paws on the edge of the bowl. He gave a start when it tipped over, trapping him inside. Sanji laughed and Nami could see the corner of his lips moving; he was mostly turned away from them so they couldn't see his mouth completely as he talked to Zoro. He lifted the bowl off and gently patted Zoro's head, mumbling something to the sulking cat.

"Ahh, I can't make out what he's saying." Nami whined, pressing her ear to the door. "Can you hear Usopp?" No response. "Usopp?" Nami looked behind her and was met with Usopp's chest in her face. "There's such a thing as personal space Us—" Nami looked up and saw that he had a stethoscope over his ears and she beamed. "You're a genius, Usopp!"

He snickered and looked down at her, "Heh, thanks. You wanna listen?" He took the ear pieces off and placed them on Nami. She took the drum of the stethoscope and placed it against the door, wincing at the sound when it first hit the wood.

When she could hear Sanji talking behind the door she smirked up at Usopp and mouthed a victorious: "Bingo."

o()o()o

"No, I already gave you something, don't be so damn selfish."

' _I'm hungry! Give me some of the damn fish!'_ Zoro extended a paw towards the meat only to have it picked up and placed on the other side of the hot stove—how unfair.

"I already told you no!"

' _But I want it.'_

"Quit staring at me or you'll get nothing!" Sanji placed several of the fish in a pan and they began to sizzle divinely. If Zoro had been human he would've been drooling, but he opted for staring longingly. Since when had fish smelt so agonizingly delicious? Probably since his nose became about 14 times stronger, damn it all.

' _You're doing this on purpose aho-cook...I'll have to do 'that' again...'_ Zoro looked up at Sanji with his 'pity me' look and hoped it would work. It had in the past...every once in a while...

"Don't even try it. It's not gonna work. Besides, this isn't for you, and you know that. How many times do we have to go over this?"

Now that was mean; preparing fish in front of him and not even planning to let him have a taste. Zoro's expression was no longer the practiced 'pity me' look, but an authentic look of disappointment. "Mee..." He whimpered.

Sanji looked down at Zoro and could practically see the waves of disappointment roll off of him. His ears weren't forced back like when he did the 'pity me' look, but they still drooped, almost twice as morosely. His tail hung limply, the tip brushing the floor. His face was tilted downwards, but his eyes locked with Sanji's. "Dammit, cut that shit out! I'm not gonna give in to you this time!" Sanji picked Zoro up by the scruff and started to carry him towards the door.

o()o()o

"Shit, Usopp we've gotta bail!"

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Usopp picked Nami up and ran around the corner and up the stairs to their secret base just in time. Nami knocked him on the head, though not as hard as normal, and he dropped her to the floor.

"Should I take that as a 'thank you?'" He mumbled, crouched down with his hands on a growing bump.

"Hmph." Nami crawled over to the edge of the upper deck to look down at Sanji who was wiggling and dancing in front of Robin, placing the distressed kitten into her caring hands.

Usopp smiled and rolled his eyes, joining her. He knew that that was the best he was gonna get. "So, did you find out anything?" He said just below a whisper.

"No, not really. It just seemed like normal Sanji-kun...I guess." They ducked back into the bushes when Sanji turned around to go back into the galley. It was a miracle he hadn't noticed them. "I think he really just doesn't know. Or the thought never crossed his mind like you said earlier."

"Hmm...that's what's bothering me. The others are acting normal cause we all know Zoro's here with us, but wouldn't the 'normal' Sanji have been making wisecracks about Zoro's disappearance? Like: 'My wish finally came true, the bastard's gone.' or 'Baka Marimo finally got lost for good. Good riddance, the useless shithead.' That sort of thing." Usopp's imitation was comically accurate and Nami couldn't resist a chuckle.

"Well, that may be true, but what's the point of insulting Zoro when he's supposedly not even around?"

"Nami, he makes fun of Zoro aaaall the time. Even when we're separated into groups for adventures and stuff he makes these little 'this-is-what-that-idiot-marimo-would-do-in-this situation-comments' all the time. 'If I'd been stuck with that idiot I don't think we ever would've gotten out of that forest.' and 'Why don't we just put a leash on the shitty bastard.' Granted that's not all he talks about, but still."

"Like an immature boy with a crush on the girl next door." Nami mused, playing out BL scenes in her head until Usopp brought her back, but he couldn't help but guffaw at the mental image of a young Sanji throwing bugs onto a young scared Zoro who screamed and ran away with his skirt flying up. "You know Usopp, there's someone who might be able to find something out for us."

o()o()o

"You guys want me to help? I thought we stopped playing that game yesterday?" Chopper had been abducted and taken to Nami and Usopp's super secret hiding place under the mikan bushes, where another fruit was unevenly distributed.

"We just need you to ask Sanji-kun a few questions. You can do that can't you?"

"Ah well, I don't know Nami..."

"But we need the world's greatest super sleuth in the world in order to solve this mystery." Usopp smiled wide and winked down at Chopper.

"Huh? Me?"

Nami and Usopp gave a semi-confident thumbs-up and Chopper did his dance and proceeded to insult them, as was per usual.

"Ok, Chopper," Nami whispered into the little reindeer's ear, "here's what we're gonna do..."

 **_To Be Continued..._ **


	6. Chopper the Super Sleuth

Chopper nervously stepped a foot into the Galley. He turned around to get Nami and Usopp's opinion on what to do, but he saw that they were gone. Feeling slightly abandoned, he turned back around and slid into the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Very slowly, he inched his way around the perimeter of the room, observing Sanji's every move like a highly specialized secret agent was supposed to do.

"You need something, Chopper?" Sanji asked without looking up from his work.

Chopper panicked and knocked over a chair before proceeding to scramble and totter until he was standing awkwardly beside Sanji. "Umm…I just wanted to ask you something." He tugged his hat down over his eyes, trying to hide his nervousness, lest he was given away and his true intentions were revealed.

"Hold on a second, I want to bring these things out to the ladies. I promise I'll be right back." Sanji scooped up his silver, serving tray and twirled out the door singing merrily, and Chopper was left alone with the sizzling meat. After a minute or so, a very dissatisfied Sanji came stomping through the door. Holding a tray with broken dishes, pieces of ruined food and…

…a food covered, coffee soaked Zoro.

Sanji threw the broken dishes and ruined food remains into the trash and briefly considered doing the same with the cat.

Chopper asked a hesitant 'what happened' as he hopped down from the chair and trotted over.

"This shitty, green, neko-bastard jumped onto the tray. He tipped it over and knocked it out of my hand." Sanji placed the tray on the counter and had to make a conscious effort not to violently throw the cat into the sink. "The hot coffee nearly burned Robin-chan's delicate skin." Sanji began to weep dramatically for a moment, as he often does, before regaining his composure just as suddenly as he had lost it. He sighed and turned on the water and reached for the soap. He placed Zoro under the gentle stream of water and started to rub the jelly, frosting, and cake crumbs from Zoro's fur.

' _And what about Zoro?_ _ **He's**_ _the one that actually got coffee on him.'_ The doctor in Chopper criticized, but Chopper decided that it would be best to remain silent and to just to stand stock still, waiting for Sanji to notice him first so he wouldn't agitate Sanji's unpredictable mood swings any further.

"You still need something, Chopper?" He asked as he squirted dish soap onto the kitten's head and all down his back.

"Ah, um, I was, uh, wondering if you might...if you have any idea about, um, what, uh..."

Sanji waited patiently for the reindeer to continue as he massaged Zoro's fur.

"What...uh...what Zoro's doing...right now?" Chopper finally finished.

Sanji looked down over his shoulder at the little reindeer with his brow furrowed. "What's with this all of a sudden?" Sanji's corrugated frown turned to a smile. "You miss the idiot?" He turned the water back on, and Chopper swore he heard the cat hiss.

But the doctor wasn't quite sure how to answer without lying, so he settled for giving a gentle nod and a 'Mmh.'

"Tch, the idiot's probably either in a bar, sleeping under a tree, lifting weights, or meditating under some waterfall. Don't worry about him too much. I'm sure he's fine. Now, go get the others. Dinner's almost ready." Sanji wrapped Zoro in a towel and lifted him out of the sink, all anger about the situation having seeming to have vanished completely. H'e even given a chuckle when Zoro finally managed to wriggle his head out of the towel, looking a little stupefied.

But before he could get another word out of Sanji, Chopper was ushered from the kitchen, not one hundred percent sure he'd gotten the answer he was looking for, or if he really got any answers at all. Chopper sighed as soon as the door was closed behind him.

"He's a sneaky one alright." Usopp commented from right outside the door, scaring the poor doctor practically to death.

"We didn't make any progress..." Nami sighed sadly from the other side of the door, making Chopper's slowly recovering heart stumble over itself once again.

"May I make a suggestion?" Robin closed her book and stood up from her chair. "Perhaps you're asking the wrong person?" A chuckle of amusement accompanied the clopping of boots as she walked over to join the other three.

"What do you mean?"

"What if you tried asking Swordsman-san what he knows? Perhaps you'll get different results?" Nami and Usopp were a little embarrassed at not having thought of that themselves, but were also glad that the idea had come up.

"Looks like you have another idea mission, Chopper!" Nami smirked.

"But I'm sure you can handle it." Usopp gave a thumbs-up.

Chopper looked between the two before sighing—there seemed to be a lot of that lately—and walking dejectedly back into the Galley. The rest of the crew joined him shortly, after being launched into the room by Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Rocket.

 **o()o()o**

Dinner was pretty uneventful under the Mugiwara's standards. Everyone behaved within reason, only two dishes were broken, and Zoro didn't feel the need to cause any unnecessary trouble for Sanji. As soon as it was over, everyone left except for Robin and Chopper. Robin was sitting at the table, scratching behind Zoro's ears as he purred contentedly. The two certified intellectuals had made a plan during dinner that even Nami and Usopp didn't completely know about. Robin was going to strike up a conversation with Zoro, one that only Chopper would be able to understand. But if Zoro didn't talk, then their plan would be a failure. The two hoped for the best.

Sanji was busying himself at the sink, washing dishes as Chopper dried them. It was then that Robin put the plan to action.

"I wonder how you came to us, Neko-san." She asked as she gently rolled Zoro over to rub his belly.

Though normally uncomfortable with the vulnerability of being held on his back with his stomach wide open for attack, Zoro's paranoia vanished as soon as those talented fingers began to tickle and rub his soft, furry belly.

Robin was a bit worried when Zoro didn't respond, so she tried again. "I bet you're happy here, you get to eat such yummy food."

Zoro's mind immediately brought up memories of all the delicious foods he'd been eating. Perhaps it only seemed more extravagant because of his feline taste buds with their lower standards, but the tasty food and increased amount of sake in comparison to his small body size was welcome. _'Yeah,'_ he murmured, though he knew Robin wouldn't be able to understand, _'it's pretty nice.'_

Chopper's ears perked and he gave the signal: two sniffs in quick succession. Robin's eyes glimmered with a sense of satisfaction for the success of their plan.

"And Cook-san takes such good care of you." Sanji turned his head ever so slightly to smile with pride at the pair. Sanji wasn't a cat person by nature, but the once incredibly irritating puff of green had kinda grown on him; like moss on a tree.

Zoro smiled a little cat smile as Robin's fingers wandered up to scratch under his chin. _'I guess he's alright. He's not as much of a jackass when he doesn't know it's me he's feeding.'_ Robin looked up at Chopper for confirmation of whether what Zoro'd said was good or bad. When she saw him smile, she thought to herself _'Clearly,'_ a hint of a smirk began to show through her contented smile, _'they seem to be getting along quite well...'_

Robin pulled out the little ball of twine she'd recently started to carry around in her pocket and waved it in front of the swordsman, who looked at it predatorily and excitedly. She dangled it teasingly as she thought up another question. He pounced. Robin pulled it away just in the nick of time and dangled it back by his hind quarters, making him spin around in a slightly clumsy circle. "You've been spending a lot of time with Cook-san, haven't you?"

Zoro managed to catch one of his front claws in the fibers of the string, but Robin still managed to pull it free, much to his frustration. She teased him for a good minute more, but eventually released the bit of twine when Zoro finally managed to catch it between his teeth. He relished in his victory and rolled around in his prize, but managed to get thoroughly tangled. _'He carries me everywhere. Not like I have a choice.'_ Zoro said as he tried to pull himself out of the mess only to make it tighter. That was one thing he definitely missed: thumbs.

Chopper couldn't help but giggle a little at the difference between Zoro's words and his tone. He hadn't sounded displeased at all when describing his circumstance. He also couldn't help but find Sanji's over-protectiveness a bit funny as well. Chopper had been one of the main advocates for the theory that Sanji was very well aware of the fact that the green kitten was Zoro, so he, personally, found it all quite hilarious. Though he did get a skeptical look from Sanji as he was handed the last of the dishes. Sanji dried his hands and turned around to light up a new smoke, never taking his eyes off Robin and Zoro.

Robin reached over and started to gently rub the top of Zoro's head and that special spot right behind his ears. She was having a bit of trouble thinking of things to say, but managed to come up with one nonetheless. "Don't you miss being with your Nakama, Neko-san?"

Zoro's happy purrs died down a little as he thought about that. _'A little...'_ He meowed, a touch of loss that even a human ear could've picked up on, and Robin wasn't the only human in the room to catch it.

"Thank you, Chopper, for helping with the dishes. You can go now. I have preparations that still need to done for tomorrow. Robin-chan—"

"Don't worry Cook-san, I'll leave you to your work." Robin picked Zoro up and began to walk out the door with him, but then she had an idea. "Cook-san..."

"Hai~ Robin-chwan?" He asked, eyes full of blind devotion.

Robin hadn't realized how long it'd been since he'd done that until just now. "Do you think you could watch over Neko-san?"

Sanji, a little more level-headed than before, waltzed over to Robin and quickly 'rid her of the menace', bidding her a good night. The door closed and the two were left alone in the galley. Sanji walked over to the table and sat down, placing Zoro on the table in front of him. He began to slowly guide Zoro's legs through loops, untangling the poor dear. The twine was balled up and put aside, and Zoro mewed in appreciation, making his savior smile. Zoro lay down and closed his eyes, but quickly sat up again when he felt something ruffle the fur of his tail. He looked back to see Sanji run a finger along it.

"You know, Neko-Marimo..." Zoro looked up into Sanji's eyes and the two were locked in a stare neither one could, nor wanted, to break. "You're not so bad. You've somehow managed to get me to like the disruptive, annoying, ball of fluff that you are." He twirled Zoro's tail.

' _...Sanji...'_ Zoro took a couple steps forward and nuzzled against Sanji's outstretched hand, giving one finger a tentative lick.

Sanji smiled and gave the kitten's head a loving pat before picking him up and kissing him right on his furry, little brow. Zoro's face began to absolutely burn with a blush. He'd never been so happy for the layer of puffy green fur as he was just then. "You're so cute, Neko-Marimo."

 **o()o()o**

"Well?" Nami asked in an urgent whisper. "What did you find out?"

Usopp was by her side, eagerly awaiting an answer as well.

"I believe Doctor-san will have the answers you're looking for."

The three surrounded the chibi-doctor and looked on with clear interest. He looked up at his three Nakama with great credence in what he was about to say.

"Oi, you guys!" Luffy called from the crow's nest, sending each one of them to the floor. They were so eager to find out what Chopper had unveiled and Luffy's interruption had thoroughly surprised them. But their comical routine suddenly became serious when Luffy called down again "We've got trouble!"

 **_To Be Continued..._ **


	7. Just a 'Minor' Complication

"What is it Luffy?" Nami called from beneath the crow's nest. This had better be quick; Chopper had been soooo close to spilling the beans on the whole Sanji and Zoro situation. Unless it was just a group of passing sea kings that Luffy had spotted, she'd probably have to wait for hours before she could get a taste of that deliciously, juicy gossip. Nami was not a girl you wanted to keep waiting, but she had her ways of getting what she wanted in the end.

"It's the Marines, right?" Usopp's psychic predictions never failed. He shinnied up the mast and joined Luffy in the crow's nest to confirm his guess. "Ah! Shit, I was right!" Usopp called, almost dropping the binoculars while he violently gesticulated to emphasize the apparent importance of what was going on.

Luffy took the binoculars just in time and took a look for himself. "It looks like they've got only about 5 or so ships! Heh, this'll be no trouble." He cracked his knuckles as he grinned with excitement as he lowered the binoculars.

"How far are they?" It was then that, even though she was speaking with Luffy, Nami also couldn't help but notice the slight shift in the wind currents. Splendid, they'd get to fight in a storm. But then again, bad weather was Nami's 'fighting forte'. But before Luffy could answer her question, a cannonball saved him the trouble.

"Within shooting range apparently." Usopp commented, fairly levelheaded. He was getting better about dealing with these scary situations. Usopp hopped back down on deck in the most ungracious way possible, as only Usopp could, and began to get ready to use the canon if need be, but he'd prefer if he could just stay out of it all together. Fighting wasn't really his strong point.

"Yaro domo! Prepare to fight!"

"Aye!" Chopper and, yes, even Usopp, responded with incredible enthusiasm to their captain's order while Nami and Robin went over to the port-side railing to survey the approaching danger.

"Lu-Luffy~" Nami cried, "That's more than 5 ships!" She crumpled to the floor, gripping at her tangerine locks. She was in such a state of panic mode that she almost didn't notice that the world around them was growing darker with thick storm clouds. But what kind of world class navigator would she be if she couldn't even sense a few monstrous storm clouds she hadn't seen yet.

"Ara?" Luffy looked down at the binoculars. "Oh! I was holding them the wrong way. How funny~ No wonder everything seemed so tiny." Nami face-palmed; she hadn't expected anything less from her captain. Luffy turned the binoculars around to get another look at the approaching fleet. "Oooh, they've made more! How cool is that, Nami?" The little group of 5 or so ships had fanned out into fleet of over 20 ships. This was going to take a little while, and a huge storm was approaching rapidly. Nami predicted that a cyclone was undoubtedly on its way.

"You idiot," Nami shook her fist as she yelled up at Luffy, "you're supposed to be more thorough when you're surveying! Jeeze, what I have to deal with...I don't need this kind of stress..."

Sanji stepped out of the galley with Zoro sitting comfortably on his shoulder. Zoro was gently batting at Sanji's bangs. He was pulling the locks he managed to catch with his claws between his teeth to chew on them until the strands of golden silk slipped out of his grasp, only to go back and try again—persistence was key. "What's going on? Are there enemies on our tail or something?" Even as Sanji was saying this, his attention was totally on the kitten that was 'nomming' on his hair. He lifted his finger and distracted the kit-cat with a tickle under the chin. Zoro, who seemed to be in a mildly feisty mood, grabbed onto the finger with outstretched paws and pulled Sanji's long, pale finger closer till he could start mouthing it with his tiny, white fangs. He would stop for a moment to lick the little red indents he'd made before going back to biting reddening appendage. Zoro eventually stopped biting and just hugged the appendage with his front legs and gently rubbed his face against it. How could Sanji's _not_ smile at him.

Everyone was momentarily distracted by the scene in front of them. Perfectly synchronized, the girls and Chopper tilted their heads to the side ever so slightly and shared the same thought. _'That's so cute~'_ They couldn't help but smile alond with Sanji; Chopper's smile was a little more silly looking and Nami's was a bit more scheming, but still, they all shared that same sentiment. It was a precious moment, and they all wondered if there had been more like it. Now if only it could've gone uninterrupted, but a stupid barrage of cannonballs had to go and ruin it for everyone.

"O-Oi! Guys! They're getting closer!" A flash of lightening illuminated Luffy's face in such a way that it gave the crew shivers. It's rare that they saw him look so creepy. A crack of thunder blocked out whatever Luffy had said next.

"What was that?" Nami called up.

Luffy bungeed and swung down next to Nami. "Nami! What should we do?"

Nami looked up at the clouds and the rapidly approaching ships. _'Shit...'_ She bit her lip before she began to bark orders. "Sanji-kun, first put Marimo-chan somewhere safe! Luffy, I want you over there destroying as many ships as you can before we get too close. Usopp, take out as many as you can with the canon. Chopper, take the helm! Sanji, you help him once you've found a spot for Marimo-chan! We're gonna have to charge through their blockade!"

Everyone looked at her as if she was insane.

"JUST DO IT! It's either that or run face first into a cyclone! Robin, secure the items on deck! It's easier for you to fight at a closer range, but we're not close enough for you yet." Luffy launched himself over and not 10 seconds later there was a fiery explosion that brought down a ship and a half. Chopper used all his humanoid strength to steer in the direction Nami demanded, and had to receive help from Sanji to convince Merry that turning really was the best option at the moment.

The ship bobbed in the rising waves and turned towards the oncoming...attack...not that it could really be called that anymore. Luffy had taken out about 4 ships, but that still left a good number. Luckily they were becoming more focused on defense than offense. The Going Merry was getting much closer to the front line of ships, close enough for Sanji to jump from deck to deck and for Robin to swing over on a rope of her own arms. Sanji lit a cigarette as he danced his way through the enemy Marines, bringing them down as he went. Zoro had been tucked, perhaps not so safely, into the pocket inside Sanji's jacket that was normally used for cigarette storage. He could feel the shock from every kick Sanji delivered throughout his entire body and it hurt like fricken hell. Zoro wanted to shout out at Sanji about how displeased he was when he felt his gravity start to shift. Or rather, the world around him was being turned upside down. And for Zoro, at that moment, Sanji was his world. Sanji had gone into a handstand to defeat a surrounding group of Marines, and Zoro had been there to see everything. He'd been tipped out of Sanji's pocket and was now sliding across the rain-slicked deck when the boat started to tip at a nasty angle.

"MREW!" He called out. His voice couldn't even make it to his own highly sensitive ears. "ME-YEW~"

' _SANJI!'_ But naturally, who could've possibly heard that wee, little kitten's tiny voice on a panic stricken ship. Not even Sanji noticed the absence of his favorite little kitten. Immediately that is. He knew something was wrong when he couldn't feel the little claws dig into him when he started moving about, and that warmth was gone as well. Sanji patted down his chest as he would normally do for cigarettes, but this time his search was much more frantic. He'd lost the kitten. He'd lost the crew's new pet!

' _Ahhh, and Nami-swan even told me to keep him somewhere safe! Shit! Where the hell is that little bugger?'_ Sanji kicked Marine after Marine overboard to their watery grave, desperately searching for the small, green, and probably miserably wet bundle of fur he'd barely let out of his sight for the past 2 weeks. _'C'mon, Neko-Marimo! Where the hell are you!'_ Sanji wanted so badly to pick up that pathetic looking bundle (Zoro'd always looked cutely pathetic when he was wet) and dry him off and never let him out of his sight again. Nor would he do something as stupid as bring him into battle. If only that sword wielding idiot had been there thing's would've been a lot easier.

Zoro.

 _'I wonder where that bastard is...'_

Sanji's attention was taken away from the very important task at hand when he saw a pillar of man-made smoke twirl and twist through a door way. It really should've been obvious who it was, especially the way it angrily called out Luffy's epithet. But before he could even blink, he was grabbed by a rubbery hand and taken sailing through the air. He quickly scanned the deck. Hoping, _praying,_ that his dear kitten was safe. Sanji cursed himself for letting the stupid cat have such an effect on him...but he still prayed that his Neko-chan would be safe. Sanji knew it was unfair to play for both teams, but that's how he felt about the brat. _'C'mon, please be ok...so I can kill you when I find you...'_

Zoro was hanging on desperately onto the grains of wood that composed one of the ship's smaller, seemingly less significant masts. He looked up only to see Sanji's back as it flew through the air and away towards the ship.

' _Shit, I'm going to be left behind! Argh, dammit, what do I do?'_ But at that moment, Zoro didn't have any time to think about what it was he should be doing, because there was only one thing he could do: hold on for dear life. Or at least, that's how it was until what seemed like some sort of rag was thrown over him and he was carried up and away. Zoro only hoped it was friend and not foe. But the gentle way in which his fur was rubbed was not in the way a hated foe would act. For now, Zoro figured he'd be safe. BUt what was that smell? And why was it so familiar...

 **o()o()o**

"YOU _**LOST**_ HIM!" Nami screamed from the other side of the table as Luffy and Usopp held her back. Sanji was up against the wall with a cut and several bruises on his face. Disclaimer: the wounds were not my doing, and were, in fact, the work of a Miss Nami's clima tact. I hold no rights to the growing lumps on Sanji's head.

"Sanji, how could you be so careless? I _**told**_ you to put him somewhere _**safe**_! Being in your _pocket_ does _not_ qualify as being 'somewhere SAFE!'" Nami swung out viciously at Sanji until Usopp pressed a secret deactivation button he'd installed for such purposes. Nami threw aside her weapon and began to struggle more seriously against her captors. The galley door swung open, briefly letting in the crazy rain that was outside, and Robin and Chopper both walked in, quite soaked from the rain and looking a little worse for wear. The sea water that had splashed them was probably draining them a bit.

Nami noticed that Robin held a small bundle wrapped in cloth and she was practically kissing Robin's feet the second the lady walked in the door.

"Oh Robin! I knew I could always count on you!" Nami reached out towards the bundle. "I'm so glad you're safe~"

"Ah y-yes. Of course. I just hope it's to your liking." Robin answered, not quite sure what was wrong with Nami.

"Huh?"

"I managed to confiscate something valuable. I thought that Nami-chan might like what I've selected...Nami-chan?"

Nami had dropped to her knees and was gripping at her hair again. "Shit, why now...what the hell are we going to do..."

"Nami-swan, I understand that this entire scenario is my fault, and I wish to do whatever it takes to retrieve Neko-Marimo."

"Eh? Neko-san's missing?" Robin cried, quite a bit more startled than the crew expected her to be. "You don't suppose he fell overboard? He would've definitely drowned by now if he was not eaten by some sort of fish first."

"Robin! Not helping!" Nami barked. She swiveled her head to look at Sanji, but only felt herself grow more and more angry the longer she looked at his remorseful face "Dammit, Sanji! If you're gonna get so upset about losing him, don't lose him in the first place!" Nami got up and stomped off to her room where she could brood about their next step in a somewhat peaceful environment.

Robin glared down at Sanji, who hadn't moved from when he'd knelt down to comfort Nami. "So, losing Neko-san was your fault, Cook-san." She said. Her volume was no different, but the tone was icier than he'd ever heard it.

"Robin-chan, I know I made a mistake, but—" Robin lifted one of her arms from where she'd had it crossed. "R-Robin-chan?"

"...Slap."


	8. Poor Neko Marimo

Sanji stood above his stove as he heated a pot full of slowly warming milk. The sun had set and Smoker's ship had disappeared along with the daylight. It had only been night for a half hour or so, but already it was quite cold, which was something they'd have to get used to as they were approaching a winter island. Sanji mixed in a couple shakes of cinnamon, a generous pinch of nutmeg, a bit of sugar, and three teaspoons of vanilla as he stared into the pot, stirring robotically, his thoughts completely on the many possible outcomes of the poor, lost kitten's predicament. His face was still a bit sore from where Robin's many hands had slapped him, and the sting served as a reminder of his mistake. He ladled the milk into 6 mugs and placed them on a tray. He sighed before listlessly carrying the drinks off towards the girls' cabin— the first stop on his milk delivery run.

"Nami-san, Robin-chan..." He softly called as he taped lightly on the door. He didn't dare step inside, lest he wanted to stir up their settling tempers. But instead, to his pleasant surprise, he was welcomed into their room, and there hadn't been even a hint of anger in Nami's tone when she'd given permission for Sanji to enter. Sanji opened the door and was surprised to find that everyone, sans Usopp who was on watch, was all wrapped up in blankets, trying to keep warm on their heater-less ship. They welcomed the warm beverage with shining eyes, and each one of them took a mug, careful not to burn their fingers on the hot ceramic. Sanji sat down just inside the door and set the tray down next to him, not yet feeling quite up to the tasty drink he'd made. Instead, he shifted so he was sitting on his knees and bowed his head. "Everyone, I'm sorry. It was my fault that our little nakama got lost." Everyone was silent as they waited till he was done. "I made a stupid mistake, and because of me that Neko-Marimo is lost out at sea." Another pause. "And I would like permission to go look for him, Captain." He bowed his head lower till it was practically on the floor. He may have been a little overboard with the approach, considering it was only for a cat, but Sanji didn't want to step on any of the crew's already stubbed toes by being informal with his request.

Luffy sighed, "Sanji, of _course_ we're going to go look for him. He's nakama, and you don't have to go by yourself, you know. Who do you think we are?" Luffy added with a disappointed pout.

Sanji smiled; he should've known better. He nodded with thanks as he went to pick up the tray. He'd almost forgotten about Usopp who was freezing off the balls that Sanji was pretty sure he didn't have. He hurried out the door and up the rigging to the little rain bucket they called a crows nest. His heart still felt heavy, and that special spot on his shoulder was especially cold now that it didn't have that cute, little, puffball clinging to it, his claws making holes he didn't totally mind being made in his expensive suit jacket. Sanji shivered in the wintery wind and thought of how Neko-chan never stood up to cold very will. _'I bet he's cold.'_ Sanji thought with dismay. He wished he could set the kitten down on the table and stroke his soft fur and play with that short fluffy tail as he lapped the warm milk Sanji had made. The picture was so vivid in his mind that he could practically hear the purrs in his ears. Stopping himself from thinking any further with a rough shake of the head, the cook proceeded up into the crow's nest to deliver the barely steaming milk to the Usoppsicle he expected to find.

 **o()o()o**

Zoro shivered and shook as he sat alone on a desktop in a dark room. He had been placed down on the cold surface still wrapped in the towel, and in the 30 minutes he'd been left alone he'd managed to separate himself from the rag he'd been tangled within, but he was still unable to go anywhere. The desk was far too high to jump from, and he was too cold to even want to move. He looked around, his cat eyes catching every bit of movement within the room, which wasn't much. It was a bedroom, and it was for someone of relatively high rank on the ship, as it was a single and had an actual bed and not the cheap bunks or hammocks most marines slept in. Zoro felt very uncomfortable with his surroundings, perhaps almost a bit of fear. He was completely helpless as he was, completely at the mercy of whoever had picked him up. He was also many miles away from his Nakama, and he knew that there was no way he would be able to get back to the ship on his own.

' _Shit, what do I_ _ **do**_ _?'_ Zoro's ears were constantly swiveling, trying to pick up traces of sound, but for the moment he heard nothing. _'Who the hell picked me up? Where am I? How do I get back?'_ These questions and others of similar nature were spinning through his head, but the old Roronoa Zoro soon kicked in and calmed his nerves. _**'Luffy and the others will come to save you,'**_ his inner reason said, _**'you have no need to worry. You can trust those guys.'**_ Kitten Zoro mewed uneasily, but trusted his logical thinking and curled up, trying to sleep as he shivered uncontrollably.

He had been enjoying a light nap until he heard the creak of a steel door being opened. He cracked an eye open and saw the big, bulky shadow of the Captain of the ship. His head shot up and he quickly, though clumsily, stood op on his four large paws, trying to look menacing with his damp, matted fur and the annoying twitches he couldn't control as cold air swirled around his small body. Smoker took off his overcoat and sat down at the desk, staring at his little captive.

"You were found on deck by my subordinate." He began, almost expecting the cat to answer.

Which is exactly what Zoro did – with a low growl.

Smoker chuckled. "I bet I'm pretty scary, because I'm so big, and you, Roronoa, are so small."

Zoro's eyes narrowed, but he didn't drop the act. So Smoker knew. Well, Smoker wasn't the dullest tack in the box, Zoro had to admit, but he didn't think he'd be found out so easily. Then again, the few clues Smoker'd had were like huge, neon, flashing lights that told him exactly who the lost little kitten was.

Smoker reached out to stoke the irritated creature's head but was immediately hissed at and swiped at, so he respectively withdrew. "But then again, there is always the odd chance I'm wrong." Smoker manipulated a little puff of smoke into the vague shape of a mouse, and even though it didn't look exactly like your stereotypical cheese-eater, it was convincing enough to grab Zoro's attention. Zoro sat back and pounced at the ball of smoke, passing right through it. Smoker immediately dissipated it after the failed attack, removing any trace of the artificial rodent. Thoroughly bemused by what the hell had just happened, Zoro looked around, under his paws, up above him, and back behind his tail for the magical, disappearing mouse.

Smoker couldn't help but give a little laugh, bringing Zoro's attention back to his enemy.

' _You bastard.'_ He hissed.

"That was cute, Roronoa." Smoker cooed, "Almost too cute. It's like you're not even you anymore." He formed a bunch of little puffs of smoke and let Zoro pounce and chase after each and every one of them until the cat was thoroughly worn out and Smoker was thoroughly entertained. "Well, even if you are Roronoa Zoro, you're not much of a threat are you? Just a stupid cat."

Zoro bristled as he lay sprawled out on the floor, quite tired from his 'training session' with Smoker. Zoro closed his eyes, but was picked up by the scruff before he could fall asleep.

"But regardless of what for you're in, you are still a criminal, and you need to be properly confined." Smoker walked over to his bedside and opened up a small wire cage and tossed Zoro inside. There was a towel and two small dishes inside of the newspaper lined cage. Smoker picked up the cage by the handle and began to carry him off.

' _How humiliating.'_ Zoro thought as he observed his dehumanizing containment. Not that he was really human at the time.

"Sleep well, Roronoa. You'll be back to normal in no time, and when you are, we'll take you in. For the sake of justice."

Zoro was jostled about as the cage swung with Smoker's footsteps. He growled before he gracelessly tottered and rolled over to the towel, curling up on it to brood. He really missed that comfy pillow Usopp had made for him to sleep on, but more than anything, he missed the comfortable warmth that was Sanji. He wanted his back to be stroked, his ears to be scratched, and his tail to be fluffed. He wanted his warm milk and his specially prepared, easy to eat meals. He wanted to fall asleep to a soothing back and head massage in the comfort of his kitten house or on Sanji's chest. He was used to being spoiled by the cook and the sudden change in atmosphere was not at all welcome. He kicked himself for thinking so selfishly and for being so easily absorbed in such materialistic things.

' _ **Those things shouldn't matter so much. You have more important things to worry about...'**_ His inner, conservative swordsman self chastised.

' _But...a back massage would be really nice right now.'_ The kitten half of Zoro's brained whined obnoxiously.

' _ **...Dammit, Sanji. He spoiled you too much...'**_

Smoker walked over to Tashigi's room and knocked on her door. "Tashigi, open up."

"Ah, Hai! J-just a moment, Smo—AH!" There was a crash and a bash before Tashigi, disheveled, opened her door to greet her captain. "What is it?"

"You found this little tyrant, you keep watch over him. I'm going to bed." Smoker tossed the cage into her hands and slowly walked back to his room for a good night's rest.

"Yessir!" She looked down at the little green beast who'd been rudely awaken from his gentle sleep. Tashigi smiled broadly, "We're going to have so much fun, you cute little thiiiing~ Oh what should I call you?"

Zoro looked up in horror. Only one thought was able to filter through the tight filter of worry, panic, and self-preservation based fear. _'Dear lord, what the hell is this woman going to do to me?'_

 **o()o()o**

The next morning, Sanji awoke even earlier than usual and got to work on breakfast. He wanted to start the day off bright and early so there'd be more hours in the day to go look for what really mattered. He was like a whirling dervish as he swept through the kitchen. Everyone slowly made their way into the kitchen, still quite sleepy. Nami was rubbing her eyes as she walked in with only a barely long enough t-shirt on for pajamas.

"Sanji-kun? Wha..." She yawned, stretching so her shirt lifted up till the bottom of her panties showed, but Sanji was much too busy to notice. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Sorry, Nami-swan, but I really do want to get down to searching as soon as possible." He set plates down on the table before shoveling his own food into his mouth, much like Zoro and Luffy and the other guys often do, before running out of the kitchen, calling a hasty 'breakfast's ready' to the still sleeping crew before climbing up into the crow's nest.

Sanji picked up the telescope and slowly scanned the horizon for any indication that a ship may be near by, perhaps a marine ship following them? Ah! What was that? Was that a—no, it was only a bird off in the distance. Nothing to get worked up over. An hour went by, and the glass was never removed from Sanji's eye. Robin had made her way up to the nest and it was only because of her intervention that Sanji wouldn't have been up there for another hour still.

"Cook-san," Sanji removed the telescope to reveal a dark red, circular mark around his eye. His eye was slightly pink and bloodshot. _'The poor man.'_ She thought before continuing, "allow Navigator-san to continue directing us towards our lost little friend. I'm sure there are more productive things you can be doing." She meant it in the best of ways, but something in that hurt Sanji, probably because he knew she was right. There was nothing he could do in his predicament, but he still couldn't resist the urge to look through the telescope one more time. And he sure as hell was glad he did.


	9. One Step Forward? Or Backward?

Sanji blinked. Twice. Thrice. But he was still not quite sure he could trust what he was seeing. He removed the telescope, rubbed his weary eye and looked again. He felt a surge of adrenaline slam through him and it took a hell of a lot of self-control to keep his thoughts rational. "Oiii!" Sanji called down from the crow's nest. "I see a ship!"

Everyone was immediately at attention, hanging onto Sanji's every word. He unknowingly had them all wrapped around his little finger, so to speak. Robin, who was standing next to him, placed her hand on his forearm.

"What do you see, Cook-san?" She tried squinting out into the distance, but couldn't see anything. Had Sanji really seen a ship? Or was it just desperateness and lack of proper sleep that had him seeing things? Either one was plausible at this point. "Cook-san, may I see the telescope for a moment?" Sanji was instantly down on one knee and obediently handing his 6-foot goddess the device she so desired. She placed the scope to her eye and slowly swept over the horizon. "Ara! Indeed, it would appear that there's a ship 7 degrees south of our current course. Am I right Navigator-san?" Robin tossed the telescope down to Nami so she could take a look as well. Everyone was on tenterhooks as Nami calculated.

"Everyone! Get to your positions! We've got a Marine ship to chase down!"

With a mix of relieved excitement and slight trepidation, the crew got to work as quickly as they could. Robin even got out the oars they used in emergencies to help them hurry it up a but, her many arms working hard to give the ship as much extra speed as she could as she watched the ship with the spyglass that Nami had tossed back up. She was not at all exempt from the group's shared feelings of anxiety, worry, and parental instinct to protect those who were small and helpless. If anything, she felt it the strongest, though maybe with Sanji as the only exception.

"Yaro domo!" Luffy cried to his crew, "Let's get our Nakama back!"

"HAAII!"

"Captain-san, the ship is disappearing over the horizon."

"NANI?"

Everyone panicked for a moment before they got themselves together and quickly went in pursuit of the slowly disappearing ship, worry deeply embedded within the wrinkles of the crews' furrowed brows. They were going to get their Nakama back, god dammit! That ship wasn't getting away! They'd swim if they had to.

 **o()o()o**

Zoro opened his eyes reluctantly, not wanting it to be morning already, because that meant that new complications were rising along with the sun. It'd been a rough night and his muscles were all sore and cramped. Where was Sanji to massage those kinks out of his back? Where was the warm bowl of cream and small fried fish that were easy for him to swallow? Where was that warm shoulder to nestle into? Where was Robin with that ball of twine he liked to play with? And Usopp's comfy, custom-made bed? Really freaking far away that's where. Zoro mewled agitatedly. He'd been spoiled so horribly, and he didn't want to give it up just yet. He knew that he only had about two weeks left until he'd be turning back to normal, and he had been planning on enjoying every last moment of the luxurious pampering, even though a month ago he would've scoffed at the very idea of giving in to such materialistic desires, especially since almost all of his special attention came from Sanji. Zoro looked around Ensign Tashigi's room and mewled nervously. Even though he was confident that Luffy and the others would be able to find him before his time was up, that didn't make him like his situation any better. He knew that until they came to rescue him, he would have to go through his own personal hell.

"Good morning Neko-chan!" Zoro felt his eye give the slightest twitch. He'd decided that the only people he wouldn't maul for calling him that were Nami and Robin. Tashigi's flippant use of that annoying nickname was unforgivable "We're gonna have fun today!" Tashigi leaned down in front of the cage and smiled at Zoro through the bars of his prison. "Hehe, I love kittens, they're so cute!" She was glad that she finally had a cute little pet to play with between chases and training. Now, perhaps the next couple days at sea would be more enjoyable. "But first, I need to give you a name." She opened the cage door and gently removed Zoro from it, taking special care to unhook his claws from the towel that he was clinging to so desperately.

"Hiss!" _'Let go of me! Put me down, copycat woman!'_ Zoro puffed up his fur instinctively and tried his best to arch his back and contort his tail while being grappled around his midsection. But he didn't look nearly as menacing as he thought he did. Oh no. Since when have kittens ever been anything but adorable?

"Aw, it's ok. Don't be scared!" She patted down his fluffed up fur and scratched behind his ears. "It seems like you've grown bigger overnight! We should get you something to eat, you're a growing boy after all." Tashigi smiled warmly at Zoro and he could feel his face burn with awkward embarrassment. He felt like it was an older Kuina telling him these ridiculous things and it didn't feel right. At all. But what had she meant 'growing bigger overnight' that was ridiculous. Zoro remembered being told those sorts of things as a small child and it had been ridiculous _then_ too. But then his thoughts drifted to Coby and how he was almost Luffy's size now. Zoro wasn't sure where he was going with all those stupid tangents. He was still sleepy, and he was incredibly hungry. His stomach growled in agreement.

"Aw, you poor thing! You must be so hungry! Did those nasty pirates starve you? Aww you'll be ok now~"

"Meyow!" _'You bitch! Insulting my nakama right in front of me when you know I can't do anything about it.'_

"You must still be scared. We can go down to breakfast soon, but first! I want you to try something on first~ hehe~"

"Tashigi!"

"Ah!" Tashigi faltered in her actions and almost dropped Zoro in her moment of panic, but managed to save him from falling over four feet onto thinly-carpeted, steel floors. "H-Hai, Smoker Taisa!"

' _Shit, what've these two got up their sleeves.'_ He glared at Smoker as he spoke with Tashigi, not listening to a word either of the two were saying. _'What've you got planned, you bastard. Why haven't you gotten rid of me yet?'_ The hand returned to his head and began stroking it gently. Despite himself, Zoro could feel his eyes start to droop and that seemingly uncontrollable purring was starting up like an old motorboat.

Smoker cast a glance down at Zoro, who looked ready to leap out of Tashigi's hands. He was glaring with his disproportionately large, honey eyes and his ears were flattened against his head. Smoker smirked and leaned in closer. "I don't think the little guy likes me very much." He brought up a finger to stroke Zoro's forehead but was instantly batted away.

"Hiss!" Zoro could feel his face flush with something like angered embarrassment. He didn't like that this guy knew his secret.

"Feisty." Smoker reached forward and even though he was batted at, he continued to try and pet that soft, fuzzy head. He frowned at Zoro's lack of compliance and couldn't contain the snarky remark. "That's _real_ 'cute', Roro...tan." Nice save. Well, at least Smoker had thought so. Zoro disagreed.

"Rorotan?" Tashigi brought the kitten up to eye-level, giving him a scrutinizing look. "Aw, that's perfect for him, Smoker Taisa!" She smiled childishly as she repeated the name to herself. Smoker chose this as his moment to make an exit. He could always have his fun with the new 'pet' later.

Tashigi was ecstatically explaining to the little kitten in her hands what she had planned for them that day, but Zoro wasn't paying any attention. Probably not a good idea. Tashigi had gone over to a little box that was sitting beside her bed and pulled out a little outfit. Zoro stared at it wide eyed. Forget the fact that it was odd that Tashigi had this kind of hobby, but whatever she'd pulled out of that box was clearly not meant for herself. "You'll probably outgrow it soon, Rorotan, but I think it'll still be cute!"

' _What the hell! NO! I—no! That's just...wrong!'_ There was much struggling, biting, and scratching. But eventually, the much larger and much stronger human won out. So there Zoro sat, in his cute new outfit: a mini marine outfit, complete with sailor's hat that was strapped uncomfortably around his chin with an elastic string.

"Aw! I knew it'd be perfect!"

' _Just kill me now.'_

 **o()o()o**

The Straw Hats were making excellent time. They had already lessened the distance by a quarter of a mile and were steadily gaining. "Alright guys! Keep it up! We're right on course!" Nami encouraged from her post right outside the galley, ready to give Chopper any directional corrections if need. It'd been fairly smooth sailing and, already, almost everyone was at ease. Robin had let Luffy and Usopp take over the oars for a while and was peacefully reading a book out in the sun. Sanji was back up in his roost with the telescope, his eye glued to the ship in front of them. He'd been getting a weird vibe from the ship and had the sinking feeling that something might be off. Indeed, it was a marine ship, but there was just something that didn't seem right. Why wasn't the ship turning around to capture the highly prized heads of the Straw Hat Pirates? Why was the ship _alone_ as well? Those navy dogs always traveled in groups. There was definitely something not right here, but Sanji didn't want to burst anyone's bubble until he was sure that someone else had figured it out.

"Saaaanjiiiii~" Luffy whined, his body draped over the unmoving oar. "Are we gonna have breakfast soon? I'm hungryyyy..." The 'gururu' of Luffy's stomach floated up and knocked Sanji on the back of the head, telling him to get the hell back to where he belonged: in the kitchen, making food for Luffy.

"Sorry everyone. I'll go prepare something quickly." Hopping down from the crow's nest and jogging into the kitchen, Sanji promptly got to work.

He started up the rice and got out the eggs. Today would be a good day for Omuraisu, he'd decided. The idea of having it for a late breakfast made Sanji's mouth salivate more than was proper for a gentleman. Perhaps it was just because he was a little hungrier than usual that his mouth was so eager for food. As he worked in silence, the place that was normally a peaceful haven seemed incredibly...well...really rather...

' _Lonely...'_ He looked to the counter space next to the sink, where the little kitten usually sat. Where he would usually wait for Sanji to toss him something. Sanji picked a bowl out of the cupboard and instantly thought of his missing kitten. It'd been his favorite bowl to sleep in when Sanji was taking an extra long time to make dinner. Sanji had never understood why the cat had liked to sleep in that particular bowl, but he'd always known cats to be odd creatures. The more he thought of the cat the more he wanted to slap himself. _'He'll be fine. The bastard'll be fine. We'll get him back.'_ Even as Sanji thought these thoughts, he still wished that he'd never made that stupid mistake and that his little Neko-Marimo was there to make him smile with his idiotic antics. _'But...the sooner we get him back, the better...'_

 _  
**To Be Continued...**   
_


	10. I'd Consider That Progress

Breakfast was served and enjoyed. Nothing out of the ordinary, pretty much expected. Everyone went back outside and looked out towards the horizon, only to see that the ship was much closer than it had been before. This was most likely because it had turned around and was heading back towards them. Was this a problem? Most likely.

"Oiii! Everyone! The ship's changed course! It's headed for us!" Usopp called from the look out.

"What? That doesn't make sense! Why would a single Marine ship turn around to take us on?" Nami shielded her eyes from the late morning sun and looked out over the horizon. "It must be a trap. Well, we should be fine. The storm from yesterday didn't completely wear itself out so it's gonna be back in about 4 hours. Which'll put us at an advantage when we're fighting these Marines." She smiled, confident that her navigational skills would be able to get them out of this mess with out a scratch. Plus, they'd be able to find Zoro at the same time. Things were looking up for everyone, and the heavy atmosphere was almost completely lifted. There was still the faint glow of worry surrounding everyone, but they were all positive it wasn't anything they couldn't handle. "Alright everyone! We should wind up coming head to head with those guys the same time the storm is at its worst. We need to make a plan to rescue Z...Neko-chan from the enemy without getting ourselves captured."

"I vote the monster trio goes!" Usopp responded automatically.

Nami gave him an incredulous look. "Zoro isn't _here_. That's _impossible_."

"If that moron were here we wouldn't have this problem." Sanji commented as he lit up a cigarette. Everyone quietly agreed. What Sanji had said was true, but probably not in the way that he had meant. "Nami-san, if you don't mind, I have an idea."

"Go ahead, Sanji-kun. We're all ears."

"Aye aye sir~" Sanji said with hearts in his eyes. "Alright. The rescue team will consist of myself, Robin-chan, and Chopper."

"No! I want to go too!" Luffy pouted. "I want to help rescue Floofy!"

"We need someone strong to help defend the ship, plus we don't need someone as loud, impulsive, and reckless going about trying to be sneaky."

Luffy's pout didn't disappear, especially after being so openly insulted, but he accepted his role nonetheless.

"Robin and Chopper, you're coming with me because I need you, Chopper, to sniff out where Neko-Marimo is. You can do that right?"

Chopper nodded, pumped up and ready to prove that he could be incredibly useful with this rescue mission. "Un! I can do it, Sanji!"

"Yeah, I'm counting on you."

"Th-that doesn't make me happy at all bastard~" Chopper pulled his hat down over his eyes as he squealed to himself.

"Robin-chan, you are excellent at surveillance~ you're incredibly vital to this plan~" He gushed.

"I will do what I can, Cook-san."

"Nami-san, before we board their ship, we'll need an estimate of how much time we have so we can still make our getaway with the cover of the storm. Usopp, you keep a watch out and take people out long distance. Marimo, you—" Sanji's, and everyone else's as well, eyes opened wide for a moment before they fell back down to half mast. Sanji smiled sadly. "'Old habits die hard' as the saying goes." There was a moment of awkward silence before Sanji spoke again. "Well, until then, we wait."

No one even dared voice the possibility that Zoro was on that ship, or that he had even survived the storm. It was an unspoken understanding that to bring up such a ridiculous idea was taboo among Nakama. Of course Zoro was on that ship, and he was definitely alive and well.

 **o()o()o**

Zoro was beached on Tashigi's desk. His stomach was killing him and he didn't understand why. He hadn't eaten much more than the usual...or maybe he'd eaten extra of those tasty dishes with the fried, green tomatoes and garlic. Or was it onions? But he'd only had a few! Much less than he usually ate.

' _It'll pass.'_ Zoro assured himself. His belly thought otherwise and ripped his insides apart with an unhappy gurgle. _'Dammit, I said it'd pass! Listen to me!'_ He scolded his stomach. It tensed and twisted itself into knots. _'Owww...'_ It wasn't really pain Zoro was feeling – yet, anyways – but it was more of an intense cramping, and this was a totally different type of discomfort than what he was used to. "Mreeewww..." He needed Chopper; that little guy would know exactly what to do. Though, comparatively, Chopper was quite large to him at the moment.

"Are you alright, Neko-san?" Tashigi gently pet his head, trying to comfort her aching pet. "What's the matter?"

' _My stomach hurts...'_ "Meee..." How he missed being able to talk.

"Aww, you'll feel better soon. You're probably not used to human food."

' _No, I'm used to_ better _human food.'_ Zoro thought bitterly. Sure, it'd been good, but Sanji's was still the best. Not that that even had to be said, it was like a fact of life. Just like no one had to be told that the sky was blue or that fire was hot and ice was cold. But...Zoro couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was something more to it than that. _'Maybe if I just sleep it off it'll get better...'_ He could feel that Tashigi was still staring at him and tried his damnedest to ignore it. He was doing a pretty good job, until she started moving and readjusting him. _'What the hell is she doing?'_

After much deliberation, Tashigi finally felt she had her answer. "Yes! I sure that you've gotten bigger again, Rorotan! It's like I can see you growing." Zoro didn't even bother to open his eyes. This woman would leave him alone eventually, and he really didn't feel like looking at her face at the moment. "Yes! You've definitely gotten bigger. You're already about 2 inches longer than you were this morning! Hmm...I don't think that's normal...I bet Smoker Taisa will know what's happening!"

Zoro was picked up from his spot far too roughly considering the state he was in. Many people would consider Tashigi's clumsiness an incredibly cute characteristic. But from the perspective of a victim to her clumsiness, it wasn't exactly a turn on.

"Smoker Taisa!" She tripped, almost falling on the floor but catching herself at the last moment. Zoro was positive that something had exploded inside of him. "I think there's something wrong with Rorotan! He's gotten really big really fast!"

Smoker shuffled his paper so he could look at Tashigi over the massive pages, his face in that constant, uninterested stare. "Oh?"

"Yes sir! Please look at this." She placed Zoro down on the table and held him on his feet, as he was in no condition to be standing on his own. The pressure to his stomach hurt like crazy, but all he could do was meow and try to scratch and bite his way out of a hopeless situation.

"Hm. He does seem bigger. Leave him here."

"But Smoker Tai—"

"Don't you have a training session that you need to attend to, Tashigi?"

"Ah! That's right! I'd forgotten! Th-Then I leave him in your care." She placed Zoro on his side as gently as she could, bowed to Smoker, and with that, the woman was gone.

Smoker stared at Zoro's seemingly lifeless body for a moment or two. "Uh...are you alright, Roronoa?"

' _Shove it.'_ "Mra."

"You must be going back to normal soon if you're already starting to grow."

' _Hm?'_ Zoro pushed himself up into a sitting position. His back legs were splayed and his bum rested flat on the desk. _'What do you mean?'_

Smoker ruffled his newspaper, pretending that he was wholly absorbed in it. "Well, you didn't expect the change back to be instantaneous did you?"

' _Yeah, actually, I did. Tell me what you know, bastard.'_ Zoro expressed this as best he could.

"Hmm...well, when people like you have first eaten one of those fake devils' fruits it's potent enough to create an almost instantaneous transformation." Smoker never looked up from his paper as he explained, but he made sure that his face was in clear view for dramatic effect. "But after its been in your system for several weeks, it gradually starts to work its way out of your body. So, as your body slowly rids itself of the fruit, you slowly turn back. Was that simple enough for you, 'Rorotan'?" He smirked, keeping his eyes trained on the line graph that showed this months' rise in real estate value. His smirk fell when he didn't hear an annoyed meow from the cat that was lying on his desk as if dead...he wasn't _really_ _ **dead**_...right?

"Oi, Roronoa." No response. "Oi, you alright? Dammit, I don't want a dead kitten on my hands. Tashigi will give me hell." He watched for the steady rise and fall of the small body. When he finally was able to see the expansion and contraction that was required for any living being, he sighed, letting a huge waft of smoke curl out from between his lips. He couldn't resist reaching out and petting the soft green head. He'd wanted to do this since first setting eyes on Zoro's new form, for teasing purposes of course, but he hadn't been allowed to due to the kitten's naturally rebellious attitude. However, not it was different from all those other times. This time he was more concerned than curious. He knew Zoro was getting bigger, so he must've been having some growing pains, but this would've been much too extreme for your average growing pains.

"What's going on with you?" Smoker got up and walked around to the other side of his desk and looked at Zoro for a moment longer. He was almost the size of a small, but full-grown, cat. That was _definitely_ more than 2 inches of growth. However, Zoro still looked like a kitten. Odd. He picked Zoro up and placed him inside of his coat, where he knew he'd be warm. It was a little awkward for such am animal, but Smoker's coat was big, and with that they left the office, just as Tashigi had done minutes ago.

The second he stepped out into the refreshingly cool breeze, he was saluted and bombarded with concerns and questions.

"...huh?"

"Smoker Taisa! We're approaching the pirates we encountered!"

"Wonderful."

 **  
_To Be Continued..._   
**


	11. Zoro's Great Escape

Smoker stared after that damned pirate ship with a frown on his face. "We'll get you, you bastards."

"Smoker Taisa! Permission to fire!"

"Denied. We're nowhere near close enough yet. Don't do anything stupid." Smoker turned around and headed back inside. "But more importantly," He mumbled to himself as he absentmindedly stroked Zoro's back and scratched behind his ears, "I need to put you somewhere safe." He made the journey down into the brig and placed Zoro inside one of the temporary holding cells, putting a kairouseki collar around his neck. "I know it seems over the top, but if you're turning back soon, I'm not taking any chances." He laid Zoro down on his side and stared at the limp body for a moment before heading back up the stairs.

' _ **If Sanji's pocket had been this 'safe' you wouldn't be in this situation.'**_ Zoro thought, the bitterness in his inner mind's tone so strong that it almost made his mouth want to pucker.

' _Shut up. They'll find me.'_

' _ **Not if you're lying about in a cell like a sack of rice! Get up, dammit, this isn't the time to be a pussy!'**_

Zoro ignored the pun, whether it had been intended or not. _'But…'_

' _ **GET UP!'**_

Zoro – begrudgingly admitting that his inner reason just may have a point – used all his strength to stand up. The collar was incredibly heavy, and he had a hard time holding up his head. He bowed his head down; the weight was too great for his weak neck to support. But, oh! What was this? Zoro used his paw to help keep the collar in place as he twisted his head. If he could just twist it a little more, he could slide right out of his binds! Haha, Smoker hadn't anticipated _this;_ Zoro was sure. He felt incredibly clever.

After finally being able to free his alarmingly flexible cranium from the collar, slipping through the gaps in the cell door was child's play. Zoro couldn't help but chuckle to himself; it was like the excitement of such an easy escape had elated him to the point of a substance-free high. He ran down the corridor and slinked up the stairs in complete silence. He barely felt the painful tugs of his stomach cramps as he peeked around the corner. His cat eyes caught every little bit of movement; his ears caught even the tiniest of sounds. When he finally made it to the deck, he was able to find an amazing hiding spot, where he figured he could wait until his Nakama made their appearance.

Well, this would have been a perfect idea, except for one, minute detail. The barrel that Zoro had taken refuge in wasn't, in any way whatsoever, anchored to the deck. And with the storm blowing in, everything was shifting and sliding about, and that included empty, lightweight, wooden barrels with helpless, clueless, human-turned-kitten creatures inside of them. Zoro's barrel began to slide and he could feel that he was being tipped as the boat pitched violently. Thus, his barrel knocked over and his weakened body slid out from its hiding spot. He tried to get his footing, but, as the rain started to fall, the deck became slick and his paws slid out from under him, comically splaying his legs to make him look like an odd sort of kitten ninja star. _'God dammit...'_ After struggling a minute, and overcoming the tears of pain that ripped through his stomach, he was finally able to get up onto his feet.

"Oi!" Smoker's authoritative voice seemed to just travel above all else, and Zoro's highly sensitive ears were able to pick it up and identify it instantly. "Someone catch that cat! Don't allow it to escape!"

"But sir, the Straw Hat Pirates..."

"We'll be able to get them soon enough! I'm ordering you to contain that creature!" The marine soldiers looked amongst one another, confused by the unusual order. "Do you expect it to catch itself? Get him!"

"H-Hai!"

Of course Zoro wasn't standing still throughout this entire exchange. What, and waste a perfect opportunity to find a new hiding place? Never. He had bolted the second he'd heard Smoker's order and had clamored up a flight of stairs. He was now at the bow of the ship, not sure where he should turn next. The ship he was on was steadily approaching another one of the marine ships. Perhaps he could jump across if he got high enough. Cats could fall incredible distances and still turn out okay...right? Yes, he'd heard that at some point, it must be true! He flashed back to when he'd climbed up the support beam on the Merry and his confidence wavered for a second. This time there'd be no Sanji to save him; he'd be all by his lonesome. Plus, the mast he was about to ascend was many times higher than Merry's. He let out a nervous meow and flattened his ears against his head.

"Heeeere kitty, kitty, kitty~" Several marines were calling. Zoro huffed at the way they were calling out to him. Did they honestly think he'd come when called? Who did they think he was? His smug confidence was restored and he quickly began to scramble up the foremast. He clung desperately to his spot, daring a peek down at the deck that was about 15 meters below him. He mewled pitifully before diverting his gaze out at the sea. He stared for a moment. Was something there? No, his eyes were playing tricks on him. Or maybe...

He stared a moment more until everything came into focus. He could see a ship! Not just another Marine ship, this was _his_ ship! The Merry! He started to meow excitedly, unable to contain it. They'd managed to get back to him! He was going home!

"Oi! There it is! Up on the mast!"

"Climb up there and get him!"

"Yessir!"

' _Shit!'_ He looked around, desperately trying to find an escape route. He scrambled to get onto the top yard, where he could stand more comfortably. He looked down and saw that the mindless drones had already made it about half way up the foremast. _'Damn, those buggers are fast...'_ He looked down the yard, and saw the mast of another ship. It was a long shot, but he figured he could make it. Lightening flashed overhead and an incredibly boom of thunder sounded immediately after. The intensity of the rain increased 10 fold, and Zoro was practically drowned in it. He let out an incredibly forlorn meow, a meow so pitiful that it matched his woebegone appearance.

"Don't worry little guy!" The marine closest to where Zoro was perched called. "We'll get you down! Don't be sc—" His consoling words were blocked out by another shockwave of sound. Zoro dug his claws into the wood and glared ahead at the edge of the top yard. There was an expanse of about 10 meters, hopefully less, to the deck of the ship parallel to the one he was currently on. If he could somehow, magically leap over that massive gap, then all would be well and good. He was growing desperate. With the incoming threat of the marines and the thought of successfully escaping them weighed heavily against his rationality. He shut his eyes tight. _'God, I just want this to be_ over!' When he opened his eyes again, he was only a foot away from the end of the top yard. He'd been slowly creeping along and had finally reached the point of no return. He turned around and saw that the marines were slinking along the top yard towards him. He turned back, looking at the expanse of water between himself and the deck of the other ship. Zoro took a deep breath and...

 **o()o()o**

The Mugiwara Kaizokudan had all gone into a frenzy when they'd caught a glimpse of the fast approaching fleet behind the solitary Marine ship. They weren't concerned about the number of ships they were to do battle with – Usopp was, but he's an exception – what they were worried about was the fact that there were now about 20 ships, and they didn't know which one Zoro was on. _That_ had been the issue that had thrown them into a panic. Plus, with the thunder already booming overhead signaling the arrival of the storm like a band of trumpeters for their king, anxiety was rising. Rain would only make this hell worse.

"Robin, m-maybe you could sprout eyes on all the ships! And search for him that way! You can do that right?" Usopp begged, wanting an easy solution to this unfortunate situation. Rain started to pour down in buckets and Nami had emerged from inside to deliver raincoats.

"Nagahana-kun, please be reasonable. There are perhaps over a hundred rooms on each ship. If it had been possible, I would have already begun to do so, but my abilities do have a limit."

"Ahhh…sh-shit!" Usopp, after grabbing his coat from Nami, climbed to the crows nest and vainly searched for Zoro, though he knew that it wouldn't be as easy as if he'd been sitting out in the open with a huge, neon sign directing them to him. Everyone else was remaining fairly calm, Nami was clearly worried, but she kept her composure well. Usopp tried to see what was going on those other ships, but the heavy rain made it difficult for him to see anything more than 100 feet away.

"Oi, Usopp!" Sanji called up from right by the base of the mast. "Tell me," Usopp looked down at Sanji's horribly forlorn face: the dark circles, the overgrown facial scruff, and the unkempt hair. They all added to his pitiable presence. "if you see anything!"

Sanji's voice was so sad that Usopp suddenly felt that his _not_ spotting Zoro amidst this storm was completely unacceptable. The rain was heavy, but he continued to try his damnedest for Zoro, who he knew was out there somewhere. He gave up on using his goggles and brought out the telescope, scanning the ships. He could see that a bunch of Marines had climbed up one of the masts and he was wondering to himself why they would do such a thing? The sails were already up, and they certainly couldn't be thinking of unfurling them in this weather. They appeared to be chasing something...something...something...

Usopp screamed bloody murder. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look up at Usopp, who'd gone ridiculously pale. "I—" He was shaking so bad he could barely get his words out. "Z—Neko-Marimo!" Everyone flew to the front of the ship, trying to see him. The marine ships were now only about 200 feet away, within firing range, and had launched their attack.

"Usopp! Where is he? I can't see him!"

"Tell us where he is! We need to find him!"

"I gotta save Floofy from that Smokey bastard!"

"Usopp, tell us!"

"Usopp!"

"Dammit Usopp!"

The verbal assault was almost too much for his already weak, little heart to manage. "He—He jumped!" Usopp got down as fast as he could. "He just jumped right into the ocean!" Everyone froze in their places, their minds unable to compute what Usopp had just told them. "He was on the top yard of the foremast," Usopp continued to explain, "and then he just jumped! I think he was trying to get to the next ship, but..." Usopp's shoulder slumped as he delivered the bad news.

"C'mon everyone! If we hurry we can make it!" Suddenly a huge wave picked up and swept the Merry backwards. The waves were climbing in height, further separating the Straw Hats from their prized pet. Nami had taken control as she barked orders at the frazzled crewmembers. "Sanji-kun! I need you to—" She looked all over the deck, but there was no sign of Sanji anywhere. Fear for another one of her crewmates slowly sunk into her, but she suppressed her concern for the moment. She'd beat him up when she found him for making her worry, but for now she had a ship to manage. He couldn't have gotten far, not in this storm.

 **o()o()o**

Zoro flailed his little legs, gasping in air whenever he could. He hadn't made it to the next ship, not by a long shot. His legs weren't strong enough to cover the distance. He'd been lucky when he'd missed the deck of the ship he'd been trying to escape from. He looked around and saw the _Going Merry_ off in the distance. There was no way he could swim there, but he vainly tried to make some sort of progress. He paddled forwards with all his strength; it was all he could to keep from going under. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a huge wave overcame him and he was submersed instantly. His little body was suspended within the crystal clear, icy ocean water. Salt water was going up his nose and was running down into his lungs. It burned horribly. His body was going numb from the cold of the water. _'Stupid! You stupid moron!'_ He was sinking slowly into the dark abyss, and now his Nakama would never find him. If only he'd stayed put in that cell! They would've definitely found him there.

Suddenly, a strong tide seemed to wrap around him, pulling him upwards towards the surface. His head broke the surface and a strong, beating force slapped him on the back, forcing all that water out of his lungs. He gulped down breath after breath of that delicious air, thankful to be able to breathe again. His nose still stung like a bitch, but he had no right to complain. He was pressed against a semi-warm surface, but that surface was quickly losing heat, much like his own body was at the moment. Zoro's body was wracked with shivers, but a reassuring hand and a comforting voice was there for him as began to breathe.

"Shh, it's ok. Don't you worry. I've got you. You're going to be ok. You're safe, you're with me now." Sanji petted the little body that he'd been so worried about the past day or so. He couldn't help but kiss the top of Zoro's head, and after he'd one it once it was like he couldn't stop. He kissed Zoro's fuzzy head again and again, trying to communicate how worried he'd been for the little guy.

Zoro mewled lethargically, though happily, that he'd finally been reunited with Sanji. He would've nuzzled his savior right then and there if he hadn't been falling unconscious. When Zoro's happy mews died down, Sanji became worried, and he quickly began to swim back. He, his Neko-Marimo as well, was in serious danger of hypothermia. He'd known that his sudden, brash, impulsive move had been a serious gamble with his life, but it was all worth it to have his little bundle of joy back home where he belonged. As he swam, he could feel his muscles start to give out on him. His heart was beating more slowly and it was getting harder and harder to keep moving forward, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't give up on his nakama. He felt himself start to sink and he panicked, but something grabbed hold of him and yanked him out of the water. And before he knew it, he'd managed to make it back to the Merry, much thanks to Luffy's last minute grapple, and climbed on board to cries of anger filled worry and relieved embraces. When everyone saw that he had a shaking kitten in his arms they were all overjoyed. Nami began guiding the crew out of this mess as Sanji and Chopper hurried to the bathroom, where both Sanji and Zoro were to warm themselves back up to a normal body temperature.

Sanji sat comfortably in the bath with Zoro, who happily floated around in his own mini-bathtub. The cook looked down at his pet, a little bit of a frown setting in. "You stupid baka-marimo. You should have just waited for us to come get you! There's no point in trying to be valiant if you're just gonna cause more trouble in the back end." He berated.

Zoro looked up at him, his eyes clearly saying 'and whose fault was it that I got separated in the first place? I didn't ask to be placed in your pocket.'

Sanji sighed. That look made a point. He reached out and ran his fingers down Zoro's spine to where his back became his tail. He scratched his hips and Zoro began to purr. "I'm sorry. It really is all my fault when I think about it." He pulled the plug and took Zoro out of his personalized bathing unit, wrapping first himself and then Zoro in a towel. This was always Sanji's favorite part of giving Zoro a bath, as Zoro would always wind up looking like a real life marimo, and not just a figurative one. He wrapped Zoro up in the towel completely; rubbing his fur until he was sure he was completely dry. He sat on the floor placed Zoro down on the wooden surface. The towel was still for a moment before it started twitching. Eventually, a slightly frazzled head popped out from under one of the folds.

' _I thought I'd never get out of there.'_

"You know, Neko-Marimo. A test of an animal's intelligence is based off of how fast an animal can get a towel off their head." Sanji smirked as the kitten looked up and him and hissed. "It's interesting how you can always tell when I'm making fun of you." Sanji unwrapped the towel and just sat there staring for a moment. "You've gotten quite a bit bigger...it's a pity." Sanji stood up and grabbed the pajamas Chopper had been nice enough to deliver. Even though it really wasn't late enough for bed, Chopper had insisted that he rest his fatigued muscles at least for the night. So once he was dressed he picked up Zoro and made his way downstairs. Once settled on the couch, he pulled up the covers and placed Zoro on top. Instantly, Zoro got up and climbed in under the covers, creating a little bump right over Sanji's stomach. It made him look like he was pregnant with an oddly shaped baby. He could feel the little circle of warmth that Zoro was creating start to vibrate and he smiled. Things were right again...or so it seemed.

 **_To Be Continued..._ **


	12. Back to Normalish

Sanji slowly blinked his eyes open, his first thought was to feel around for the feline companion that had been sawing logs while curled up on his stomach. He started at the right side of his body, slowly moving his hand up and down until he came to the left side, the path of his hand uninterrupted by any sort of small furry body. This concerned his half asleep mind greatly. Sanji bolted up straight, tweaking the muscles in his neck; he was now fully awake. Sanji's pleasant morning mood was slowly sinking into great disappointment. He looked around and saw that Usopp and Luffy were still fast asleep. Had last night and the grand rescue of Neko Marimo been nothing more than a dream? Surely it couldn't have been! He quickly, though more silently than a cat, got up off the couch and stole upstairs and to the kitchen: his solace.

It was still dark out so he could see the yellow light seeping out from the crack beneath the door. No light shown through the windows, seeing as their thick glass panels were covered by curtains that were drawn tightly shut. Sanji went to the door and gave the knob a turn. Unlike he'd expected, it was unlocked; he was thankful for this. He pushed the door open slowly, not wanting to startle anyone inside, who probably wouldn't have been expecting someone to intrude at this hour.

"Oh! Sanji! G'morning!"

"Morning, Sanji-kun."

"Good Morning, Cook-san."

"Good Morning Nami-san, Robin-chan, Chopper." He gave each of them a polite nod in greeting. He'd noticed that the three of them, Usopp as well though he wasn't present at the moment, had been sticking together quite a bit lately. "What's going on here?" He approached the table they were surrounding. He placed a hand on Nami's shoulder as he looked past her and down at whatever was holding their attention. His eyes widened and his face lost whatever color it had when he saw his kitten lying on the table, its breathing heavy and labored. The sickly creature looked to be in incredible pain and discomfort. Sanji's heart wrenched when the kitten let out a pitiful mewl.

"What's wrong with..." Sanji looked to Chopper for answers.

"Ahh, he seems to have eaten something that's toxic to his body. From what I've gathered, he's eaten onions and garlic, which deplete a feline's red blood cells, causing anemia, and he seems to have also eaten green tomatoes, which can cause severe lower gastrointestinal symptoms. Though it's still perfectly fine for cats to consume ripened tomatoes, green ones should be avoided. It's nothing I can't fix." Chopper said with an encouraging smile. "He's just going to be uncomfortable for a little while. All he really needs is proper nutrition to help his body rebuild the depleted red blood cells."

"Mmm...I see..." Sanji reached out a hand and gently stroked Zoro's head, soothing the aching beast.

' _Not to mention,'_ Chopper thought, _'he's also going through some intense growing pains...he's going to turn back soon...'_

"Well, it's a good thing we'll be landing soon. I'll bet everyone will want to stretch their legs a bit after this adventure." Nami offered, trying to change the subject so unwanted questions could be avoided. "It's a winter island, Chopper, I bet you're excited." Nami smiled and graciously listened when Chopper started to excitedly babble about getting to set foot on a snow-covered island once again. Robin had, at some point, wandered over to make Sanji and herself a cup of coffee.

"You know, it's gotten quite a bit cooler." Robin commented, handing a steaming cup to an elated Sanji. "I wonder if Neko-san will be alright in the cold weather. Especially considering the state that he's in."

There was a moment's pause until Nami perked up, her face lighting up with an excited smile. "Ah! I have an idea!" She exclaimed, "I'll go prepare something right now~"

"Nami!" Chopper called.

"Huh? What is it?"

"When do you think we'll get there?" He asked, face glowing with excitement.

Nami thought for a moment, finger resting on the tip of her chin. "I'd say maybe an hour or two after breakfast."

"Well then, perhaps I should get started now." Sanji said with a smile. "Are you finished with the patient, Chopper?"

Chopper nodded, "Un! He should be fine in a little while. I have complete confidence in the medicine I gave him."

Sanji patted the large pink hat. "Yeah, so do I. And I have complete confidence in the doctor that prescribed it." Chopper wriggled and giggled about for a moment, before heading out of the galley to put his stuff away. Nami had left to go take care of her "mystery project" while Robin had decided to stay put, wanting to enjoy her cup of coffee inside where she wouldn't have to deal with the chilling wind outside.

"Neko-chan has gotten a bit larger, hasn't he?" Robin commented, attempting to bait a response out of Sanji. She wanted to understand what was going on inside of that mind of his. Sanji wasn't a stupid man; Robin was sure he knew that something was going on, but he wasn't saying a word about what he was thinking. As she mulled over that thought, she began to believe that Sanji never really been one to voice what was going on inside his head. She realized that despite his seeming forwardness, especially towards the ladies, he was an actually incredibly secretive individual.

"Ah, yes." He commented tiredly, "It's definitely unusual. I wish I understood what was going on."

She smiled. Noticing how carefully Sanji had thought about his words before speaking had been child's play for Robin. It was also possible that it could just be her overanalyzing nature, but Robin was firm in the belief that Sanji wasn't oblivious. She tried again to get a more definitive answer. "I wonder what could cause such a thing. It certainly is mysterious, not to mention far out of the ordinary for a regular feline. Could there be more to Neko-chan than we think?"

Sanji chuckled. Robin assumed that it was because he had caught on to her little game. "Well, nothing is ever what it appears when we're involved. I suppose we'll just have to wait it out. Though I bet you know more than I do, Robin-chan."

Robin was sure at that point that Sanji had figured out what she was playing at and had closed himself off from her goading. "That's not completely outside the realm of possibility. Though I'm afraid I don't know everything." And that was the end of that. Robin let the conversation drop and continued to peacefully sip at her coffee until the remaining crewmembers finally piled into the galley to enjoy another delicious morning wake-up call. Sanji had figured that for such chilly weather, something hearty would be good for a gray morning like this. He'd decided upon some sweet and savory, stuffed French toast, spiced with rosemary. To drink, he made more of his delicious hot chocolate with a generous dollop of handmade whipped cream, sprinkled with chocolate shavings and cinnamon, floating like a little, speckled mountain on a chocolaty sea.

 **o()o()o**

After breakfast had been inhaled, everyone went over to the storage area and pulled out their winter coats, hats, and mittens. Most of them, Luffy and Chopper being the only exceptions, changed into pants and long sleeved shirts to help keep warm and to keep the frigid air from biting at whatever exposed pieces of skin it may be able to find. Usopp survey the island from the crows nest a moment, declaring that there was a town about a mile in, and that there was a fenced road they could follow to get there. Everyone, now all bundled up, hopped off the _Going Merry_ and set off for a new adventure.

After being jostled awake from the impact of Sanji jumping off the boat, Zoro slowly pulled his unwilling lids apart, only to discover that he was unable to see. He was tightly bundled in Sanji's scarf – he could tell it was the cook's scarf because it reeked of tobacco smoke – and had to struggle to get his head free. As he looked about all he saw was an expanse of white and two, short, split rail fences that were halfway buried beneath mounds of snow, leading one to believe that beneath all the dense precipitate was a road. It was perfectly picturesque, but Zoro couldn't help but wonder: when had they arrived at a winter island? He'd remembered the unusual cold when he'd been locked up in Smoker's room and when he'd leapt into the colder than usual ocean, but he didn't remember being anywhere near an island. Something tickled his nose and he couldn't help but sneeze his adorable cat sneeze, drawing in the attention of nearby nakama.

"Awww~ why is it that everything you do is always so cute, Neko-chan?" Nami cooed as she petted the top of his head. "C'mere~" She slipped her hand into the protective scarf and pulled Zoro out, much to Sanji's simultaneous delight and dismay. "Aww, they look so good on you! Then again, I designed them~" Nami turned Zoro this way and that, taking a moment to admire her fine craftsmanship. Usopp may be good, but Nami's got him beat when it comes to fashion design.

And, expectedly, Sanji agreed with her. "Your taste is always so flawless Nami~swan!" Sanji complimented brainlessly. "You were so kind to make Neko-Marimo a winter outfit~ And on such short notice, too~ You are amazing, Nami-swan!" Indeed, Nami had, between breakfast and arrival at the island, fashioned a legless body suit, complete with a lined, gnome hat styled hood, out of a piece of one of Robin's old, worn, leather jackets to keep out the wind and used a pink, preposterously fuzzy sock as a liner to help keep him extra warm. She'd also made little booties out of the same materials. Zoro, however cute he appeared, didn't share the same appreciation for the outfit as the others did. For one, the boots cut off one of his two main weapons by encasing his claws in sturdy leather. The hood got in the way of his incredibly keen auditory senses, and the body suit was bulky and embarrassing. He had to admit, however, that without the suit he'd be dying of cold; his exposed legs were already uncomfortable. Then again, he would have opted for simply staying snuggled up in Sanji's scarf.

Zoro gave a self-important mew, which emanated his clear desire to be returned to the comfort of Sanji's scarf. "Oh, come on~ You're with Sanji-kun all the time, Neko-chan! How about spending some time with the others~" Nami insisted, gently rubbing her cheek against Zoro's. Mewing with resignation, Zoro allowed himself to be taken away by Nami, leaving behind a slightly confused Sanji. Now without a kitten to watch over, Sanji looked almost at a loss at what he should do. He lit up a cigarette, quickly getting over himself. Originally, he had wanted absolutely nothing to do with this new and, seemingly at the time, useless addition to the crew. He had intended to foist all care giving responsibilities on the youngest crew members, though in hindsight that may have been a bad idea. Sanji watched from the back of the group as Nami, Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper all enjoyed a turn with the pet, while Robin and Sanji walked behind them, as they had gotten more than their fair share of Zoro cuteness. Robin took this opportunity to strike up another conversation with Sanji, though this one was less cunningly staged and was only about her harmless curiosity of how their relationship had progressed.

"I dunno," Sanji concluded as they continued trudging through the snow, "he just kinda grew on me. I'll be sad to see him go..."

"Yes, but I suppose, sometimes, it's for the best."

"Well, maybe. But I'm gonna miss him."

"I'll miss the adorably playful dear as well, but you know, Cook-san, even if he isn't cuddling against your shoulder, he'll always be with you." Robin brought a gloved hand up to her chin and chuckled gently.

Sanji smiled around his almost spent cigarette. "I certainly hope so."

"Oi, Sanji! Robin!" Their attention was drawn to the 17-year-old man in jean shorts and puffy red coat. "Come check out what Floofy is doing! It's so funny~"

"He still hasn't given up on that?" Sanji questioned himself more than anyone, his sweatdrop freezing in the sub-zero temperatures before it could fall properly.

"At this point, I'd be more concerned for Neko-chan." Robin and Sanji trotted to catch up, but were brought to a halt by outstretched hands, silently requesting that they take not a step further.

"Watch, watch, watch! Go ahead, Usopp!" Luffy cried excitedly.

Usopp gently placed Zoro into one of the large boot prints he had left. Already being quite familiar with this new game, Zoro complied accordingly. Still being incredibly small even after his growth spurt, the green kitten was unable to walk through the thick snow, and his snowshoes made him clumsy. Despite the obvious shortcomings, he took a valiant leap and almost made it to Usopp's next print. Struggling quite a bit, he managed to wriggle from the snow that was taller than he was and half hopped, half stumbled into his original goal, wobbling around in it with his clunky snowshoes. "Mmmew..." He grumbled. They would all definitely pay for this horrifying embarrassment.

"Come on, Neko-chan!" Nami called sweetly, as if talking to a young puppy that was learning to "come here" instead of a 19-year-old swordsman that understood Japanese perfectly well. "Come on! Show Sanji-kun how well you can jump!" She really couldn't help but tease him with the whole Sanji bit, but judging by Sanji's reaction of pleasant surprise rather than that weird..."love struck horror" one might call it, the love cook was more like a proud parent at his child's talent show than anything else. He even crouched low so he'd be able to see better, while still maintaining a respectful 5 foot distance.

Zoro's reaction, however, greatly differed. He had just about died of embarrassment right then and there. His face heated up to such great temperatures someone could've fried an egg on there if they so desired. His tail fluffed up comically and his ears would've twitched like crazy if the hood hadn't been restraining them so relentlessly. He took a hesitant look up at Sanji who was looked down at him lovingly. Zoro quickly returned his attention to the ground and uttered a bashful mew. "Come on! You can do it!" Nami called again.

Deciding to just play along and get this over with, Zoro complied, backing up until his bottom touched the wall of snow behind him; he'd get a running start this time! He had taken only a few steps when his body lurched, racked with an incredible amount of pain. Still attempting that leap into Usopp's far away shoeprint, Zoro managed to escape the imprint, but fell straight into the deep snow, disappearing from sight all together.

"Marimo!" Sanji called, feeling more worried than he thought he normally would have. Perhaps the stress from previous issues was weighing on his mind. The others allowed him to take charge of the situation, so they stepped back and gave Sanji the privilege of being the one to fish Zoro out from the snow. Gloved hands encircled a warm, heaving body and plucked it, very carefully, from the snow. As Sanji was brushing the snow off the kitten's face, he was horrified to see a lot of hair coming off along with the snow. "What the hell happened to yo—" After having all the snow removed from his body, Zoro finally opened his eyes; the blasted pain had ended. He stared up at Sanji, mewing in appreciation, but all Sanji could do was stare in total bewilderment at a set of very familiar features: two brown eyes, a pointed nose, a mouth with two protruding fangs, and tan, hairless face.

 **_To Be Continued..._ **


	13. Cards on the Table

Robin, being closest to the pair when the big unveiling happened, bent over to see what exactly had put such a stunned expression on their beloved cook. "Oh my! Cook-san, may I see him?" Sanji didn't move as Robin plucked the...human faced kitten from Sanji's loose grip. Zoro looked up at her, confusion written clearly on his face, and now that he had a human face, it was much easier to register what he was feeling and thinking.

"Kenshi-san..."

' _Oi, oi Robin! What're you doing? The ero-cook's right there! Don't say my name!'_ "Hiss! Ero~nyan! Nyo Nyame" Zoro furrowed his eyebrow and pouted his lip, his green ears lying back against his green hair. He didn't seem to notice that he had said something to them that had made moderate sense.

Robin stared wide-eyed at Zoro for a moment before looking at Sanji's stunned face. He was slowly scanning over the faces of the rest of the crew, even though they all refused to make eye contact, save for Luffy, who had gone on ahead and had only just noticed his comrades were missing and was on his way back to them. Except for the crunching of snow beneath Luffy's feet, everything was silent. Everyone who had known of Zoro's little secret had sheepish expressions on their faces and guilt in their eyes.

Robin stood up from her crouched pose next to Sanji, cradling the shivering kitten in her arms. "This is profoundly awkward."

 **o()o()o**

Everyone trudged in solemn silence until they reached the town. They found a comfy little tavern and settled down at a round table in the corner. It was only after everyone had ordered their food and drinks that the subject, which had been the ultimate taboo for the last 3 weeks, was finally brought out onto the table.

Sanji was the first to speak. "Tell me," his voice was low and slow as he spoke, his hand gesticulating for emphasis, "who here, knew about everything that was going on. Start from the beginning."

No one wanted to be the first to say anything, not until Sanji's anger had been dumbed down a bit. The boys didn't even dare open their mouths, for they knew Sanji wouldn't go easy on them, so they looked to the girls for help. Robin had Zoro held protectively in her lap. Even though he was well aware that he was starting to change back, he had tried to crawl over to Sanji to elicit love and affection, thinking nothing of it. Worryied about how Sanji might react to Zoro's affections now that it was clear to the cook who the kitten was, Robin had felt it safer to keep Zoro with her. After finally getting Zoro to settle down, it was the archeologist who began the explanation...by passing the responsibility on to someone else. "You were on the deck when Kenshi-san returned from his trip to town on the day his transformation occurred. Isn't that correct, Navigator-san?"

"E-Eh?" Nami pointed at herself and had a 'What? Me?' expression on her face from the sudden shift of responsibility. However, she knew Robin wouldn't give in, and began her part of the story. It did start with her after all. Well, the part that came before her only Zoro could tell, but he was unable to do so at the moment. "Err...well..." Nami began hesitantly. Even though she knew Sanji would never be able to hate her, the fact that she was a girl wouldn't keep him from getting annoyed with her in this situation. She was well assured that he wouldn't hit her either, but she still felt she should tread carefully for extra precaution. "You see, Sanji-kun, I was the only one on board when Zoro came back from the island. He was in a panic and he was trying to tell me something, but he kept meowing in between his words. He began to sprout ears on top of his head, and then you and the boys came back and he darted into the mikan bushes. I was going to tell you guys what had happened, but that was when he jumped back out, in full kitten form, and stopped me. Then I made up that lie about him being away..." She looked down at her interlaced fingers as she twiddled her thumbs, a sheepish frown wrinkled up her pretty face.

"I remember that. What comes next?" It was like Sanji versus the rest of the crew. Even though they sat in a circle, it was like he sat on his own, his feet up on the surface of the table with a cigarette dangling lazily from his lips. His arms were folded over his chest as he stared everyone down. It was a very pressurized atmosphere that hung about the table; even other customers picked up on the tension that was brewing.

"I took Navigator-san aside," Robin cut in, relieving Nami from her storytelling duties, "and I explained to her about these chemically altered fruits that act as a sort of temporary devil's fruit. They give the consumer a temporary ability that lasts approximately a month. Then they go back to normal. However, they're not true devil's fruits, so Kenshi-san remained unaffected by seawater. This was also a prototypical version, which is why Neko-chan's 'ability' is, more or less, useless. It's been a little more than 3 weeks since Kenshi-san consumed this fruit, so now the affect is wearing off."

Scientific explanation out of the way, Sanji turned to Usopp and Chopper. "Well? How did you two find out?"

"Well, I'm able to communicate with him because I can understand what other animals are saying, and because Zoro was a kitten, I could understand him...eh heh..." A trill of timid laughter tried to cover the slight fear the reindeer felt. Chopper had wanted to get off the witness stand as soon as possible, so he left his story short and simple. It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth.

Usopp, who had initially been tempted to fabricate a few white lies to throw in had gotten a warning glare from Nami, telling him that he was road kill if he tried anything funny at this point in time. So he stuck to the truth instead. "W-Well, I mean, a green kitten came on board the same day that Zoro went missing, and it was kinda obvious that—" Usopp could feel the heated gaze of Sanji's grow hotter. The hot-headed blond, clearly, didn't appreciate the implication that Usopp had been smart enough to figure that out on his own while he, Sanji, could not. Usopp stuttered to add more to his story, a part of the story he'd left out...until now. "A-And, well, on the way back, I kinda...saw Zoro start to transform. I saw his ears pop out and when he ran into the mikan bushes, his hands had already turned to paws..." He laughed sheepishly. "It really freaked me out for a moment there. I thought I'd pass out—"

"What? You didn't tell us _that!"_ Nami cried.

"W-Well, it would've been cooler if I'd figured it out myself!" Nami silently agreed. "But I probably would've noticed anyways eventually..." Usopp folded his arms and sighed. "What surprises me is that _you_ didn't know, Sanji."

"That _is_ rather curious, Cook-san. From the times that I asked you all those questions, you certainly didn't seem oblivious." Everyone looked at Sanji, muttering 'yeahs' and 'that's true' as they all seemed to close in on him.

Sanji opened his mouth to recount his version of this whole mess, but his story was interrupted when the trays of food and mugs of drink they had ordered were brought to the table by a sultry waitress. Little Neko-Marimo excitedly jumped from Robin's lap, but before she could grab hold of him, he darted to the platter of grilled trout and bit into it with his little fangs, his clawed paws gripping the sides of the fish as he tore away at it excitedly. Sanji sighed and reached over, grabbing Zoro by the scruff of his neck. He picked up the kitten, whose claws stuck to the skin of the fish as he was pulled away, and brought him over by him. "That's not all for you." He scolded before cutting out the piece that Zoro had attacked and placed it on a separate plate. "There. Baka Neko-Marimo."

"Sanji...kun?"

"Wait a minute..."

"You knew?"

"Hold on, how come no one told me!" Luffy interjected, "How rude!" An extra platter of pork cutlets was placed in front of the irritated captain. He had no further complaints.

"Well, I didn't know for sure because no one seemed to feel they could let me in on what was going on."

"Well, to be fair, Cook-san, we were worried what would happen if you knew that kitten-san was actually Kenshi-san."

Robin held a valid point, and Sanji acknowledged that. He continued on with his side of the story, the side of the story that no one knew anything about as of yet. "I understand, but please, allow me to tell you how I saw things for the past month." Everyone stopped eating and turned to Sanji, anxiously waiting to hear what he would say. "Well, I suppose I first started figuring it out pretty much the first day..."

 **o()o()o**

Sanji watched as the girls went into the galley. Judging by the looks on their faces, they had something serious on their minds that they needed to discuss. He turned his attention back to the creature that was dangling from Usopp's nose by his teeth. It looked incredibly painful. Feeling a bit of pity towards the sniper, Sanji reached down and, as gently as he could, pried the kitten loose from Usopp's bleeding olfactory protuberance. He held the kitten in one hand, wrapping his long fingers around its stomach. He turned the beast around so the fuzzy face was looking directly into his own. Zoro glared up at Sanji, his eyes narrowing just as they would when he was a human. Sanji recognized this glare immediately; he'd been on the receiving end enough times to know what it looked like. It was then that the first couple seeds of suspicion had taken root.

"You bastard! You scratched your new master!" Luffy cried.

"How dare you injure the great Usopp-sama's precious face!"

Zoro swatted at Sanji and the cook dropped the kitten to the ground. Almost instantaneously, Usopp and Luffy dove at the cat, furious with it for inflicting minor, but still uncomfortably painful injuries upon them. How dare the beast do that to them? Unforgivable.

Sanji watched as the kitten leapt about with incredible dexterity. The beast had motor skills that were far beyond its years. Another seed was sown.

 **o()o()o**

Sanji took a break in his story, looking at the Neko-Marimo he was dealing with now. "He certainly has changed since day one." He remarked. Zoro was happily chomping away at his lunch. As he turned his head sideways to get at the meat on the side of his chunk, his body fell over, realigning itself with his head. To say he rolled over probably would've been more accurate. However, he continued to chomp away, lying on his side as if nothing had happened. His eyes were wide and eager, unlike the sharp daggers they had been at the beginning. He was clumsy and playful, and, surprisingly enough, he'd gotten to be incredibly cute and loving. The only thing that held any relation between Neko-chan and Zoro was the fact that they were both green, and that they were both stupid, if you asked Sanji. The cook was so tempted to reach over and ruffle that fuzzy little head, but he managed to keep himself in check. In a few days he wouldn't be able to be with Zoro as he had for the past several weeks, and he'd have to get used to it.

"It was just things like that that kinda led me to guess." Sanji recalled, "How he gravitated towards his favorite foods. How he followed his same nap schedule in the exact same spots." No one commented on how Sanji knew Zoro's nap schedule. "I figured other people had inklings as well, but didn't talk to anyone about it, like I was doing. I didn't know you were all in cahoots with each other. Though I did have my moments of suspicion." He cast a knowing glance at Nami and Usopp, who just so happened to be looking away when he brought up the subject.

"But if you knew..." Usopp began, looking to Nami to help him finish his sentence, which she did.

"How come you were so comfortable being so close to him all the time?"

Sanji tightened his fist and his eyes twitched ever so slightly, an irritated frown sinking into his expression as he stared at the oblivious kitten. "...I wasn't that close to him."

"Sanji-kun, you were with him constantly! You were the one that fed him, gave him his baths when he made a mess of himself, the one he snuggled with at night. You carried him on your shoulders everywhere you went for about 80 percent of this whole mess. You took care of him more than anyone else. You couldn't even separate with him when we went to fight the marines. How can you say you two weren't close?"

"He clung to me cause I fed him. That's all. It's an animal's instinct to follow the one that feeds you."

"Sanji-kun..." Nami sighed. She wasn't going to get anywhere arguing with him like this.

"And now that he's turning back he won't need me anymore."

"Don't be ridiculous, Sanji-kun!"

"I'm sorry Nami-san, but it's the truth. Once he turns back it'll be like nothing happened." Everyone's heads swiveled back and forth between Nami and Sanji as they argued. It was like watching a tennis match. Even Zoro had put aside his fish when he picked up on their mood. Luffy watched, but he was the only one who continued eating. Zoro, noticing how particularly unhappy Sanji seemed, left behind his meal and waddled over to Sanji, rubbing up against his hand and arching his back, trying everything he had learned about attention garnering in the past 3 weeks to make Sanji forget about everything that was going on and to just focus in on his adorable little self.

"Mew? Mrew! Nyanji~" Sanji's head, and everyone else's as well, snapped down to Zoro when they heard Sanji's name in that weird cat-human hybrid speech. Zoro, only aware of the attention Sanji was giving him, reached for Sanji's finger with his paws and drew it close, giving it a couple of gentle bites and a concerned lick. "Nyan? Nyanji!"

"Knock it off...damn Neko-Marimo." He picked Zoro up and placed him back by his food, as far away from Sanji as his arm could reach. Zoro looked as forlorn as if Sanji had brutally rejected him and then punted him outside into the deep banks of snow. He mewed pathetically, and everyone at the table, except Sanji apparently, could feel their hearts break at the sad little cry. "I said knock it off! You don't know what in the hell you're doing."

"Wait...Sanji-kun...you don't know that part, do you..." Nami's eyes softened and she brought a hand to her chin.

"Of course I don't know. How could I? Cause everyone kept things from me, I really don't know much of anything." The irritated edge was nearly gone from Sanji's voice. His anger had almost completely evaporated, and all that was left was the bit of hurt from his Nakama all keeping a major secret from him for so long. The words were harsh, but his voice was soft, sad almost. "What else don't I know about what's happened to Zoro?"

"Sanji-kun, Zoro hasn't been oblivious to what's going on. He never has been."

Sanji leaned forward in his seat, his eyes open a smidgeon wider than usual. "Wh...What?" His voice grew even softer, disbelieving.

"It's true cook-san." Robin placed her chin in her hand as she began to tell Sanji more of the story. "Neko-chan has been well aware of everything that's been going on. Even though the fruit has infiltrated his mind and has affected his personality, he's still fully cognizant of his surroundings. It's like he's been reduced to a child. A completely dependent creature that very easily loves and trusts those who care for it." She paused. "There was a time when you and Doctor-san were doing dishes while Neko-chan and I were sitting at the table after a meal. I was asking Neko-chan a series of questions. Do you remember that?" Sanji thought for a moment before nodding slowly. "The reason Doctor-san was there was because he was able to understand Neko-chan and translate his answers."

Sanji thought for a moment, trying to remember the questions that Robin had asked Zoro.

" _I wonder how you came to us, Neko-san."_

' _That was obvious enough.'_ Sanji thought.

" _I bet you're happy here, you get to eat such yummy food."_

' _Well, of course he was happy here, he was spoiled rotten by all his nakama. And hell yeah, my food's fricken delicious.'_

" _And Cook-san takes such good care of you."_

Sanji didn't know how to answer that. He felt that, considering the circumstances, he did a pretty good job of taking care of the little runt. He fed him, bathed him, played with him, they...Sanji almost didn't want to think about it. It made him sad to know that that was all going away soon.

" _You've been spending a lot of time with Cook-san, haven't you?"_

As a matter of fact, it was incredibly rare that Zoro went too far from his shoulders. Though it was pretty easy for him to realize that it was true enough, Sanji hadn't really thought about it all that much. Robin's last question, however, had struck a nerve with Sanji as well. He had remembered how sad the kitten had been after she asked it, but he hadn't expected to feel the same way.

" _Don't you miss being with your Nakama, Neko-san?"_

' _...I missed him too.'_

"Yeah," Sanji finally said after a long, dramatic pause, "I remember all of them." He looked at Zoro, almost embarrassedly, "What...What'd he say?"

Robin thought for a moment. The entire table thought back to their spy team operation, trying to remember what Chopper had told them. "You know, we never found out. Only shortly after Doctor-san and I left the galley, Captain-san announced that we were under a Marine attack."

"Oh yeah!" Usopp snapped his fingers as he vividly recalled the incident. "I remember that! And then after that, when we went to fight the Marines, Sanji dropped Zoro...on the...uhh...erm...never mind." The death stare Sanji was emitting had effectively put an end to Usopp's part of the tale.

"I remember that part, thank you." Sanji gritted out through his teeth. Nami, Robin, and Chopper couldn't help but giggle as they remembered a panic-stricken Sanji, and how he had valiantly dived into the icy waters to retrieve the helpless kitten. It made it all the more heartwarming that Sanji had suspected, felt it in his gut, that Zoro had been the kitten all along. "Well, Chopper, would you be willing to enlighten us on what Zoro had said?"

Everyone turned to Chopper. He was the key to the last, unopened door in this mystery. However, even though Chopper felt that he shouldn't withhold information from his Nakama, but he also felt that what Zoro had said hadn't meant to be heard by understanding ears. His hesitation was obvious, and agog nakama began to egg him on, their curiosity fully peaked. "I..." the doctor began nervously, "I...I really don't think I should be the one to tell you."

"Whaaaat?" Nami, Usopp, Luffy, and Sanji all cried. They were all so eager to find out the answers, to quench their thirst of curiosity. "C'mon, it's not like it's that big of a deal!" Usopp tried to reason.

"Well, I think it's just that Zoro should be the one who decides who to tell and who not to tell."

Everyone looked at each other, understanding what the reindeer meant. If it was truly something personal, then they had no right to budge into his business. Nami and Usopp slouched in their seats, finally getting back to their meals that had long gone cold. "Ahh, that's disappointing..." Usopp mumbled.

Nami leaned in and whispered into the tan ear, "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough~" She leaned back, an evil, conniving look on her face.

"Kukuku~" Usopp copied her expression, "I'm sure we will~"

"What are you guys up to?" Luffy asked through a mouth of stolen food. "You look evil!"

"Nothing, nothing~"

 **_To Be Continued..._ **


	14. It's Not the Same

Once everyone's bellies were full of food, they headed back out into the frozen wasteland. "Well," Sanji lit up a new smoke, "I'm going to head off and see what this town has to offer in the way of food supplies. I'll catch up with you all later."

"Wait, Sanji-kun, I need to hand out everyone's allowances!" Nami called. The rest of the boy's quickly got in line, all their eyes shining with excitement. Nami sighed as she opened her bag. "Well, Robin and I were planning on doing some shopping as well anyhow. So I suppose I can just give everyone their money now." Nami reached into her bag and pulled out 4 individually wrapped stacks of money, leaving her own and Robin's much larger portions inside her purse. "Alright, these are everyone's allowances for this island. You know the drill: spend wisely and no asking for more!"

"Haai." They all responded in nearly perfect synchronization. Sanji added a happy trill of "Nami-swan~" to the end of his agreement.

Everyone quickly split off to go their own ways. They really didn't want to stay too long on this winter island, all except Chopper anyhow, and were all hustling and bustling about, trying to get their stuff done as quickly as possible. Robin had taken it upon herself to hold responsibility for Neko-chan for the time being, keeping him held to her chest protectively as he shivered away. She had gone with Nami to search for new clothes, among other things. Before long, the two of them were walking down the street with a few new shopping bags hanging from their arms. More were to be added to the bunch as the afternoon wore on.

"You know, I'm amazed with the variety of their stores considering how cold this place is."

"Well, just because a town is cold that doesn't always make it desolate, and they probably want to appeal to all varieties of clientele."

"That's true I suppose...Hey, Robin, look at this!" Nami ran over to a children's clothing store. "It's a kid's clothing store. We should get some stuff for Zoro."

"That's a wonderful idea, Navigator-san. I'm sure Neko-chan would appreciate having something to wear as he changes back. The fur won't keep him modest forever." She chuckled. Upon hearing his name, Zoro awoke from his comfortable position in Robin's arms. He meowed to announce that he had woken up from his restful slumber. "Oh, you're awake Neko-chan. We were just talking about you."

"Mmmyah?" He half meowed half spoke.

"We're gonna do a little shopping for you~" Nami gently tapped his nose with a finger.

"Nyo!" Zoro protested.

"You can't walk around naked forever, Neko-chan." Nami reasoned, smiling mischievously. "Besides, you can't escaaape~" The last bit had been more of a joke than a real threat, but Zoro took it all the same. It was true; he couldn't escape. So into the children's store he went. Once inside, Nami went straight over to the baby's and toddler's sections and looked through all of the brightly colored, roomy, patterned clothes that were hung up on itty-bitty little hangers. Robin headed over to the older child's section and began looking around as well. She smiled when she head Nami say with more than a hint of evil in her voice, "This is going to be fun~"

 **o()o()o**

"Thank you for your purchases, valued customers! Please visit us again!" The clerk cried as Nami, Robin, and Zoro left the store, little shopping bags that suited the little clothes they held hung from Nami's arms as she strutted happily through the snow.

"I just _have_ to change him into some of these when we get back. I can't wait!" She cried excitedly. Robin laughed at her younger Nakama's antics. She, too, had enjoyed picking out clothes for Zoro and had been just as into it as Nami had, though her excitement was much more contained.

"You'll have to alter them first Navigator-san—oh!" A man whose face was hidden behind shopping bags had appeared in front of the two women, almost running into them as they rounded a corner.

"Is that you, Nami-san? Robin-chan?" Sanji's blonde head peeked out from behind the large paper bags. "Not a lot of fruits or veggies, but they had some really high quality meat available. I'll get an amazing hot pot started for everyone tonight, I'll also put on a pot roast today so we can eat it for tomorrow, and I can grind up the rest for some chile con carne for the day after. How does that sound to you ladies?" He smiled broadly, quite happy with his plans for the supplies he'd bought.

"It sounds amazing, Sanji-kun."

"Indeed. We'll be looking forward to it." Robin said, gracing him with a gentle smile.

"Well, I best hurry back to the ship. Shall I take some of your bags?"

"Sure. Thanks, Sanji-kun." Nami and Robin shared a look. As fast as light, a plan had been formulated between them. "Actually, Sanji-kun, instead of our bags, do you think you could take Zoro back with you? He's not handling the cold too well."

Sanji's blue eye slowly traveled to the sad looking lump that was curled up in Robin's arm, shivering and shaking like crazy, even though he was all bundled up in Nami's handmade suit. "Alright, but only because my lovely ladies asked me too~" He warbled. "C'mon Neko-Marimo. Let's get you back to the ship."

"Nyanji?" Zoro looked up at the blonde man that had turned him away earlier that day. He withdrew and tucked deeper into Robin's arms. He didn't feel like being with Sanji. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He _did_ want to be with Sanji, but he didn't want to be with the crabby cook if the man didn't want him there. Zoro knew that his time as a kitten was almost up, and he was excited to get back to his regular, daily regime. However, for the past month, his daily life had consisted of lots and lots of Sanji. He knew it was stupid to expect things to remain as they were when he was a cat, but he couldn't help but wish that this whole cat thing could last another week.

"C'mon, Marimo. Let's go." Sanji turned his back and started walking away, his strides preposterously slow. It was as if he was expecting Zoro to follow him on foot.

Nami and Robin shared a confused look. Was Sanji honestly expecting Zoro to walk on his own? What was going on here? He had always been so willing to carry Zoro about on his shoulder before. What had changed? Nami called out to him. "Sanji-k—"

Zoro's desperate meowing interrupted her. He had felt as if there was a strong magnetic force that was pulling at him, encouraging him to follow the back of the man whose affections he'd gotten far too used to. The thought of living without them was nearly unbearable. He wriggled and squirmed until he freed himself from Robin's arms, dropping down into the snow with a soft "paff" sound. The three of them waited a moment, debating whether they should help the kitten or not. However, soon enough, Zoro's snow speckled head popped up. After wriggling about for a moment, two green forepaws emerged from beneath the heavy snow. Seeing that Zoro was beginning to make progress, Sanji turned around and started walking away, though very slowly so the kitten could still catch up.

The poor kitten wouldn't be catching up anytime soon, unfortunately. With every attempt to climb out of the deep snow, his body would sink in again, oftentimes leaving him in a more awkward and difficult position than before. He reached forward, trying to pull himself up and out of the snow once again, but only managed to sink in further. He furrowed his eyebrows and puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. This was not going as he had planned. When Sanji had finally gotten about 10 feet away, still walking preposterously slow, Robin decided to give the little tyke a hand. An arm sprouted from beneath the snow like a flower, much like the name of Robin's ability implied, reached over and picked a snow-speckled Zoro up by the scruff of his neck and placed him into one of Sanji's footprints. From there, the kitten bounded from foot print to foot print with greater ease than when he'd tried to walk through the deep snow on his own.

Nami couldn't help but find the scene of kitten Zoro racing to catch up to Sanji absolutely adorable, even though the voice in the back of her mind was telling her that it was cruel for making Zoro walk on his own. But then again, it _was_ Zoro that we're talking about. Even if he was a kitten at the moment he'd still manage. Reluctantly, she and Robin both slunk away silently, even though they wanted to watch how the scene would unfold, they decided it would better for the two to get back on the good terms they'd been on for the past several weeks. So, begrudgingly, Nami and Robin continued with their shopping, now officially Zoro-less.

After walking a little ways, Sanji looked back to see if Zoro was following him. Sure enough, about 10 feet behind, the little runt was doing his best to keep up with Sanji's long strides, jumping from shoe print to shoe print. He would spring out of one imprint, fly through air, and then completely disappear when he landed in another. Apparently, that trick he'd learned earlier today was serving a purpose. Sanji stopped and waited for Zoro to catch up. He could tell that Zoro was getting tired, as he was taking longer and longer to jump. Sanji couldn't help but take pity on the poor creature and promised himself that he'd carry the tyke the rest of the way once he caught up.

Zoro was panting and huffing and puffing as he took a brief rest, unused to this much physical exertion. He'd been spoiled by that blonde haired jackass and had been carried everywhere for nearly a month, so this extreme hurdling adventure was wearisome. He cursed Sanji for making him walk all on his own. He'd show him! He'd make it all the way back to the ship all by himself without that stupid bastard's help. Zoro sat back on his haunches and lept in the direction he'd thought the next footprint was. Now, we all know how reliable Zoro's directional sense was. He landed in the cold snow, sinking completely out of view.

Sanji sighed and walked back over to where Zoro lay in the snow. Balancing the two large bags in one arm, he picked the kitten up and placed him back on his shoulder, brushing the snow from the tiny face. "Baka Marimo," he muttered with a trace of fondness in his voice, "let's get you back to the ship." Sanji placed the kitten under the faux fur lined collar of his coat, giving the kitten a gentle pat on the head before heading on his way. Occasionally he would look down at the sleeping feline on his shoulder. He'd reach up and gently run a finger back and forth across the soft green hair and over the pointed ears. He smiled when the ears gave a twitch as he tickled them. Oh yes, he was going to miss this horribly.

 **o()o()o**

When he finally awoke, Zoro was curled up on the counter next to the stove, enjoying the heat it gave off as Sanji made warm drinks for the crew that he assumed would be arriving shortly. HE noticed that SAnji had removed those infurriating snow booties and that bulky snow suit and sighed in appreciation. He began purring again as he drifted between being asleep and being awake. Yes, he much preferred the warmth of Sanji's kitchen; he hated being cold. He sneezed, bringing Sanji's attention from the concoction in the pot back down to his neko marimo.

Sanji thought about cooing over Zoro as he had in the past, but knowing now that Zoro understood, and would probably remember, his doting little phrases...he felt awkward about doing it. Embarrassed even. So once again he held himself back, and instead went at Zoro with a slightly harsher jab. "I thought idiots couldn't catch colds." He smirked, going back to what he was doing instead of his usual post-insult coddling. This perplexed the freshly awoken marimo greatly.

Zoro looked up at Sanji with a frown, not understanding what was going on. Sanji was supposed to scratch him behind the ears or give him a taste of what the was making, tease him a bit, gently smiling, not smirking, and then get back to work. He wasn't supposed to ignore Zoro, insult him, and then continue doing whatever the hell he had been doing as if Zoro hadn't just done something completely adorable and praise worthy. Of course, these weren't Zoro's exact thoughts, but they described how he was feeling well enough, whether he was aware of it or not. His brow furrowed and a scowl that hadn't worn in a very long time etched deeply into his face. He curled back up and went back to sleep, his purrs ceasing all together. Sanji looked down at the kitten who had turned away from him and frowned, sighing a bit before going back to the steaming pot. They were beginning to grow apart once again, and neither one of them liked it.

 **_To Be Continued..._ **


	15. Sanji's Struggle

"—but there's always the chance that they could—"

"I don't think that'll happen, though."

"I think they'll be friends again! They have to be!"

"Well, it's impossible to be completely sure of one outcome or another. There are always unseen variables that could affect the future that we have no way of knowing about."

Robin and Nami had met up with Chopper and Usopp on their way back to the ship. Despite having purchases of their own, the boys were somehow convinced to carry at least 50% of Nami and Robin's bags. As they were walking, their conversation eventually lead to Sanji and Zoro's relationship. Now that everything, as much as they knew anyhow, was out in the open, they felt that they were free to talk about it whenever they wanted. Of course they'd use proper discretion when necessary.

"I can never tell what Sanji-kun is thinking." Nami sighed with a bit of annoyance tickling the edges of her voice.

"Well..." Usopp began, trying to put his thought together before he spoke. "He might be feeling awkward about it, you know? I mean, he could be trying to push Zoro away again cause he feels embarrassed."

"That's just stupid!"

"But Nami, think about it. Sanji loved _Neko-Marimo_ , and he was anything but subtle about it, and now that he knows that Zoro was aware of how he was acting towards him...he probably feels awkward treating Zoro the same way he treated Neko-Marimo."

Nami thought about what Usopp said. Of course she had come to the same conclusion, but had almost completely ruled it out. They had gotten along so well for so long that she had thought that maybe there was a chance they could come to enjoy each others' company as humans. Then again, they'd disliked each other as humans for a reason, and after Zoro's transformation, his personality had been different, amongst other things. Perhaps they simply, as humans, with their very strong, distinctive personalities, just weren't meant to get along. It'd be a downright shame if they couldn't work through this.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see..." Nami frowned as the four of them continued crunching through the snow. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Oh! That's right! Let's hurry up guys! There's something I need to do back at the ship~" The light in here eyes was one of excited mischief. The boys quirked a confused eyebrow at her sudden change of attitude.

The archeologist chuckled before smiling that enigmatic smile of hers. "This will certainly be interesting."

 **o()o()o**

When the four remaining crewmembers finally hopped on board, the log post was now about an hour away from being ready to go. Nami decided to make the best of her remaining time while they were still in the calm waters of the bay.

"What's gotten into her?" Usopp questioned, morbid curiosity eating away at him. This was the first time in a while that he'd been excluded from one of her schemes and he was dying to know what was up.

Nami cracked open the door to her study, "Robiiiin~" she called, "I need your help with these!"

"I'll be there in a moment, Navigator-san."

"Why do you get to go?" Usopp pouted and crossed his arms childishly.

Robin easily read into his jealousy at having been "replaced" by her. "Don't worry, Nagahana-kun, I'm sure all will be revealed soon enough." She covered her mouth as she chuckled, slowly walking over to Nami's study, closing it after once she'd passed through the open door.

Usopp looked down at Chopper. "What's gotten into them?"

Just then, the door to the galley was violently thrown open with a loud squeak and a sturdy bang as it bounced against the wooden wall before slowly starting to close itself. "Oh, you guys are back." Sanji carried a tray of steaming drinks in one hand and pulled out a new smoke from his pocket with the other as he strutted down the stairs over to where Usopp and Chopper were standing. He offered them their portions and they eagerly accepted.

"Yeah, we just got back." As Usopp sipped his drink, he scanned over Sanji's body, looking for where Neko-Marimo might be. "Where's...uhh...where's Zoro?" It felt weird to be calling Zoro by his name in front of Sanji. There was still a lot of lingering doubt about Sanji's feelings over the whole mess, and Usopp wasn't 100% comfortable talking about it with him yet. And, apparently, Sanji wasn't either. His cigarette wasn't lighting up, and Usopp could sense his mounting annoyance.

"In," snick, snick, "the kitchen." He snicked his lighter in irritation as he continued to try to light up. "Why," snick, snick, "do you ask?" He finally got a flame and inhaled deeply as the tip of the cigarette began to glow an orangey-red.

"What? You left him there all by himself?" Usopp questioned in disbelief.

"Yeah." Sanji shut the lighter and stuffed it back into his pocket, letting the smoke leak out from between his lips. "He's a big boy, "he muttered in a slightly mocking tone, "I'm sure he can handle himself."

"That's not what I meant!" Usopp was growing annoyed with Sanji's indifferent attitude. "Well, I'm not just gonna stand here and watch you act like an ass for no good reason." He stomped up the stairs and went into the kitchen to go save Zoro from the countertop, where he'd been sitting faithfully. His tail was curled around his forepaws, his head tilted towards the ground, and his ears flattened. Usopp got the sinking feeling that if this had been a human Zoro, he would've just walked in on the swordsman crying. When Zoro saw Usopp his ears perked back up and his tail stood at attention.

"Nyuso?" Zoro stood up, brow furrowing. Usopp read Zoro's expression as one of confusion. Like he was trying to ask him what he was doing here.

"I'm here cause Sanji's being an asshat." Usopp scooped Zoro up in his arms. "Want me to put you down on the floor?"

Zoro sighed, relaxing into Usopp's hold. He was too tired to really feel like walking anywhere at the moment. "Nyo..."

Usopp gently reached up to rub Zoro on the head as he'd seen Sanji do in the past. He was relieved to see Zoro close his eyes and almost instantly start snoring. The sniper felt an unusual warmth spread in his chest as he watched Zoro doze in his hands. He brought Zoro closer to his chest and gently rearranged the body, which was now that of a full frown cat, so it was perched on only one of his arms as he continued stroking Zoro's head and back. A feeling of possessiveness, one that Usopp assumed Sanji oftentimes felt, crept up his spine. How could Sanji ever want to part with this sweet little bundle? It made no sense to the long-nosed sniper, which gave light to the possibility that not all was as it seemed.

 **o()o()o**

"Yooosh~ It's done!" Nami held up the last of her personally designed (modified, rather) outfits, fully satisfied with what she had created (again, modified). "How about you Robin?"

Robin looked over at Nami and smiled. "I only have the buttons left to sew on this one and then I'm finished."

"Zoro will be better dressed now than he was when he was a human, haha!" Robin and Nami chuckled, but their girl time came to an end when Usopp knocked on the door.

"Nami? Robin? It's almost time to set sail. You guys done yet?"

"Yeah, we just finished. We'll be out in a second." Nami was about to say something to Robin when she heard a gentle 'nyan' from the other side of the door. "Wait, Usopp, is Zoro there with you?"

"Huh? Uh...yeah. Why?"

"Really? Come in, come in, come in! Hurry, hurry!"

Usopp looked down at Zoro doubtfully. Zoro looked back up at Usopp with a 'don't do it' expression, but at the moment, disobeying the fiery redhead versus disobeying a cat...well...

Usopp pushed the door open with his foot. "This had better be worth it, Nami. Zoro threw a fit." Usopp was ignored, and all of Nami's attention immediately went to the cat that was being held with one of Usopp's arms strapped across his chest and one pinning his legs down, effectively disabling him. Usopp was bleeding a little from his nose and from several scratches on his face. "Does he know something I don't know? Why's he acting up?"

"Zo-chaaan~" Nami called sweetly, "I've got new clothes for you~"

Zoro flailed his limbs as best he could, though it was all in vain. He didn't like that in this form even Usopp could overpower him. Talk about humiliating. "NYO! Nyami, nyo! Mreah!" He hissed, pulling back his lips to reveal 2 pairs of adorable little fangs that were nestled between otherwise human teeth.

"Zoro, you're still adorable even when you do that. It's gonna take a while before you're back to the scawy, gwuff, mistew manly man, useless lump of a swowdsman youw used to beee~" Nami cooed teasingly as she tickled beneath Zoro's chin and scratched behind his ears. "Besides," she continued in a more serious tone, "you're losing more hair. I can see skin on your stomach and," she brushed against his neck, "it's coming off your neck in clumps. It's kinda gross, Zoro." She removed her hands just as Robin sprouted 2 new ones, continuing on where Nami left on, managing to keep Zoro distracted just long enough for Nami to go and grab the first of several outfits.

Indignant as he felt, he still couldn't resist closing his eyes or the gentle rumbling that vibrated throughout his body. He didn't even fight against Usopp when he felt the grip completely disappear from his lower legs. He was startled out of his calm state of mind, however, when a pair of what felt like shorts slid up his legs and caught on his tail. He bent up his legs and began struggling once again, but was held still once more by Robin's arms. He felt an invasive hand grab onto his tail and force it through the appropriate hole, bending it at an uncomfortable angle. He mewled in discomfort and the hand that held his tail captive began moving more slowly and much more carefully.

"Sorry, Zoro, didn't mean to hurt you. I kinda forgot how sensitive a tail can be." Nami apologized as she pulled the shorts up to where they belonged. Zoro never took his eyes off of her. He was well aware that a shirt was soon to follow, and he dared anyone to try and get that over his head. As soon as his forepaws were free he'd be sure to attack the offending clothing with his 1-2 combo. He didn't really have the teeth anymore so he didn't know how well the '2' part of the combo would work, but he'd give it everything he had.

"Oh come on, Zoro." Nami coaxed, "it's a sailor outfit! It'll be adorable!"

Zoro gave a very distinctive 'we are not amused' face. He'd already been thrown into a sailor's outfit once, and that had been more than enough for him. He stared at the white, collared shirt with the blue and white striped kerchief that was tied into a bow and embellished with a golden bell. He didn't see a hat, thank god, but the bell was almost just as bad, if not worse. "Mrr..." He growled, eyes narrowing as he remembered his all too recent encounter with Tashigi.

"I kinda agree with Zoro on this one...I'd hate to wear something that embarrassing...especially if I couldn't fairly fight against it..." Usopp muttered, quirking an eyebrow at the garb that Nami had assembled.

"Oh come on, it's really cute, right? Wouldn't Zoro look adorable in it?" Her eyes shone with excitement, clearly wanting Usopp to agree.

"H-How would I be able to answer something like that!" He'd never admit that he had briefly entertained the idea and had even been tempted to go along with dressing Zoro up in these silly, yet cute, outfits.

"Don't worry, Neko-chan, most of the outfits are fairly normal." Robin held up the one she'd just been working on. "When you've grown, perhaps you'd like to wear one of my creations?" She held up a white shirt with three buttons and dark green pants that would fit someone about the size of your average 3rd grader. She'd even constructed a green haramaki and bandana to go along with the look and had purchased mini combat boots to complete the ensemble.

Zoro's frown disappeared and was replaced by a relieved smile. He mewed in appreciation at knowing that a more normal outfit would be in his future.

"Aww...that one was going to be a surprise for after I'd teased him for a little while." Nami pouted at her older female friend, disappointed that the secret had been leaked.

Robin chuckled, placing the clothes back on the table. "I'm sorry, Navigator-san. I'll keep the rest of them a secret then."

"Now," Nami said, returning back to the task at hand, "to finish dressing you, Neko-chaaan~"

' _God dammit...I hate women...'_

It took a little while, but eventually Zoro was in full sailor attire, once again. The three of them, Usopp as well, were standing over him, admiring the new look. Zoro felt like Usopp had betrayed him. He'd been on the kitten's side at first, but once he saw the completed look he couldn't help but admire it. From the artist's standpoint of course. Not because it looked cute or anything.

"What can I say? I'm a genius." Nami bragged, shrugging as if it couldn't be helped that she was brilliant.

"But of course, Nami-san, you're absolutely amazing~" Sanji swooned, seeming to come out of nowhere.

"Sanji-kun!" Nami cried enthusiastically. She was incredibly eager to show off her creation. "Look at Zoro's newest outfit!" She grabbed Zoro off of the table and held him up for Sanji to see.

The first thing Sanji noticed was the big bow and golden bell hanging from Zoro's neck. His eyes wandered up to the sheepish, blushing face and then up to the flattened ears that were nestled in that green crop of hair. His eyes traveled back down the tan face, down the now nearly hair free neck and down back to that preposterous bow. He looked over the white shirt with the blue, piping details and the arms holes that had two green, furry legs with oversized paws protruding from them. Then his eyes traveled down to the short blue shorts and to the cat's legs that hung limply beneath them. He saw that the green tail with the white tip was twitching irritably.

"I wanted to make him a hat," Nami said, drawing Sanji back to her, "but I didn't have a way of attaching it without it being incredibly uncomfortable for him." She held Zoro up higher. "What do you think?"

"Anything you make is wonderful, Nami-san." Sanji replied with a smile. His praise seemed a little lackluster, as if his mind were elsewhere at the moment.

"Nyanji..." Zoro muttered.

Sanji's brow furrowed as Zoro muttered his 'nyan-name'. He watched as Nami placed Zoro on the ground. The navigator was expecting Zoro to walk over to the blonde chef, but Zoro firmly stayed put, not allowing himself to move even one inch towards Sanji, despite how badly he wanted to be petted and praised.

"Actually, I'm here to gather your dishes." He commented, awkwardly changing the subject. "Are you finished with them? I'd like to take them off my angels' hands."

"O-Oh, here." Nami handed Sanji her and Robin's mugs and watched as Sanji walked out the door with nothing more to say than a thank you. "I thought it would work..." She whispered to herself.

"I suppose we were wrong, Navigator-san." Robin put a thoughtful hand to her chin. "I must say, this is a rather disheartening thing to see."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Usopp added, crossing his arms and frowning. "What the hell's got Sanji's boxers in a bunch?"

"I don't know..." Nami sighed, "but it's high time we found out."

Zoro decided he didn't want to listen to anymore of their idiotic prattle. It wasn't any of their business what went on between himself and Sanji. Zoro stood up and walked out the door, feeling a little awkward at being in clothes again after weeks of being naked. He went down the stairs to the main deck and to the opening in the floor that led to the men's quarters. Luckily, it had been left open so it was only slightly difficult to get down inside. He walked past the couch where he had spent so many nights comfortably curled up on Sanji's stomach as a big, gentle hand stroked his head and back. He walked straight over to his personal pet bed, it would be too small for him in a day or so, and curled up on the pillow, falling into a restless sleep.

 **o()o()o**

Sanji stood in front of the sink roughly washing out the pot he had used to make the crew their hot drinks. He was mumbling and grumbling to himself as he tried to get the image of Zoro in that adorable sailor's outfit out of his head. When he first saw Zoro in the outfit, his mind had gone on the fritz out and he had wound up drawing a blank. Of course he liked the outfit; it was absolutely precious. But he wasn't allowed to say things like that anymore. He was still uncomfortable knowing that Zoro had been completely aware of everything that had gone on while he was in full kitten form. Sanji couldn't help but practically relive the instances that never would have happened had he known Zoro could understand him...

 _Sanji was sitting amidst Nami's miniature grove, Zoro's clothes hanging limply between his fingers as he thought about his missing nakama. He brought the shirt up to his face and inhaled deeply. Yup. There it was. That scent. That was Zoro's scent._

" _Mew?" The tiny head of his new favorite creature popped out from beneath the low branches of the mikan bushes. Zoro fumbled and bumbled his way out of the ensnaring branches and tottered over to Sanji, trying to crawl into his lap. "Mrah! Mrew!"_ 'So this is where you were. Don't leave me behind, jerk!'

 _Sanji couldn't help but chuckle. "Why is it that everything about you is so cute?" He picked Zoro up and nuzzled noses with him. The shirt was sprawled across Sanji's lap, and Zoro couldn't help but notice the familiar piece of clothing. He looked down at it as Sanji set him on his leg. He gently pawed at it, trying to ask a silent question._

" _You know what, Neko-Marimo?" Sanji asked, not expecting an answer. Zoro looked up at him, eyes glistening with a tint of worry. "I never thought I'd say this, but I really miss having the human Zoro around." Sanji sniffed and his eyes glazed over. "Having you so close and yet so far, Zoro..." He muttered to the kitten. "Having you be all cute for me...it's driving me crazy. Cause right now you're just a cat..." a single tear made its way down Sanji's nose and across his lips to his chin as his emotions swelled up and overflowed. "You got me to like you...and I'm afraid that when you go back I'll like the human version too...but because you won't remember any of this..." his voice trembled a moment, but he was able to get it back together, "I have no choice but to enjoy it while it lasts..."_

'H-Hey! D-Don't cry! That...that's not like you!' _Zoro's eyes scanned Sanji's face. He didn't have the foggiest idea of what to do, so he let his instincts guide him. He crawled closer to Sanji, putting his paws against his stomach, trying to convey that he wanted Sanji to lean closer to him._ 'I...I'm, right here, Sanji. Please don't get so upset over me...' _"Meew..." Sanji, amazingly, got the picture and picked Zoro up, bringing their faces closer. Zoro leaned in and licked away the tear that was dangling from Sanji's chin. He gently cleaned off the shiny trail that the tear had left behind, over Sanji's lips and up his nose._

 _Sanji couldn't help but chuckle. "Oi, oi, that's enough you got it." He smiled warmly at the kitten. "Thank you, Marimo." He kissed Zoro on the brow and then on the nose, rubbin a finger along the side of the tiny face. "I love you."_

'I...I lo...love...you too...Sanji...' "Me...Me-yew...Myah..." _Zoro felt his face heat up at the confession and at his own reciprocation of the words. He knew Sanji wouldn't understand, but he hoped the message would be conveyed somehow._

 _Sanji lay down on top of Zoro's clothes and placed Zoro atop his stomach, stroking behind the green ears and running his fingers through the short, green fur. The two of them stayed like that until Luffy's demand for dinner echoed over the ship, pulling them away from their first of many moments together._

Sanji blushed as he remembered that particular occasion. He looked into the soapy water, but all he saw was the time that Zoro had fallen in and he'd had to give him a bath, back on the first day of his transformation. Everywhere he looked he was reminded of a moment he'd shared with Zoro, each one sending pangs of heartache throughout his body. Zoro would be back to normal in about 5 days, and then everything would have to end, and they'd go back to square one.

No petting...

No cuddling...

No love...

"Shit..."

 ** **

**_To Be Continued..._ **


	16. For the Better

At about 3 in the morning, the entire crew woke up to cries of distress coming from the corner of the boys' room. When someone was finally able to light a lamp to see what the hell was going on, they saw that Zoro, who had been comfortably asleep inside his pet house only hours earlier, had gone through another growth spurt. Unfortunately, he'd grown too big to fit inside his pet house, and was being squashed by the housing unit that was much smaller than the irritated tenant.

"Nyoooowww!" _'Get me the hell out of here!'_

"Hold on, Zoro." Luffy comforted, gently rubbing his first mate's head, "Usopp went to go get the saw."

Zoro's eyes widened in fear. He couldn't help but imagine himself as the poor magician's assistant that volunteered to get himself cut in half, but in his situation, it would be a hell of a lot more real than some magician's trick. He began to mewl in protest when he saw Usopp heading back down the ladder.

"Usopp, did you bring the saw?" Luffy asked excitedly.

"Yup! Got it right here!" Usopp held it up, the blade glistening in fiendish delight. Well, Zoro certainly thought so. His face showed his obvious concern, and at least someone in the room seemed to pick up on it.

"Oi, oi, be careful with that thing. Suppose you accidentally cut into the Marimo while you're sawing that box open. Use your head a little more." Sanji commented from where he was lying in his hammock.

"W-Well...I suppose that's true..." Usopp agreed, looking down at the saw and at Zoro's worried face, instantly taking pity on the poor dear. "Well, instead of sawing it open..." he thought for a moment, "Luffy, maybe you could just pull it apart."

"Yoosh~" Luffy cried enthusiastically, pumping up his rubbery limbs. Zoro was absolutely horrified.

"That sounds equally dangerous." Sanji quickly cut in, "Just undo the screws with your screw driver." Zoro sent him an abundance of telepathic gratitude. If Sanji hadn't been there...Zoro didn't want to think about it.

"Ah! Yeah, that's right. That'd probably be the safest way. Though, I don't know where it is exactly..." He muttered, scratching a hand across his chin in thought.

"Well, you might want to hurry up and find it, the stupid Neko-Marimo doesn't look very comfortable like that."

Zoro's head, which was now about the size of a softball, was protruding from the hole, facing upside down. One leg was outside of the hole as well, hanging limply above Zoro's head.

"Ah, r-right! C'mon Luffy, Chopper, we're gonna go look for my screwdriver! To save Zoro!" Usopp cried valiantly. The trio hurried upstairs to begin the search for the tool that would save the life of their dear Nakama. Apparently, a little known fact, the screwdriver they were searching for had actually been used to slay thousands of enemy pirates back when Usopp was only 11, when he had been taken captive and offered as a midday snack for their cannibalistic leader.

"Nyaho..." Zoro mumbled, his voice sounding somewhat strained.

The strain in Zoro's nyan-speak brought Sanji's attention back to the kitten. He noticed that the clothes had also grown tight around him, from what he could see, and he was concerned that the necktie had gotten too tight as well, possibly choking him. Hopping down from the hammock, Sanji headed over to where Zoro had been encased inside Usopp's kitty-house. He crouched down next to the distressed cat-human, catching Zoro's attention the second he drew near.

As Zoro looked up at Sanji, he felt himself start to sink back into that cat-like way of thinking. He couldn't resist letting a gentle 'myah' slip from between his lips, his fangs glistened in the gentle light when he opened his mouth. His ears flattened against his head lovingly, though he wasn't aware of it. He pushed against the house, vainly trying to worm his way out to reach towards Sanji. The stupid blonde was paying attention to him again and he wanted to make the most of this moment. He felt his heart speed up a little bit as Sanji's hands reached for him.

Before he moved, to undo the bow, Sanji reached forward and let his finger run along the bottom of Zoro's paw. The pink pads were silky smooth and soft and cushy to the touch. His hand traveled up to tickle the fur of Zoro's ear. He stopped when he looked into Zoro's eyes and saw that shimmer of hope. _'Hope for what?'_ Sanji thought as he took hold of the bow around his neck and gently tugged at the ends, watching the bow start to slip undone. He quickly undid it and ripped the collar of the shirt until he felt that Zoro would be able to breathe comfortably again.

Relieved that Sanji had taken notice of the discomfort he was feeling, Zoro couldn't help but to express his thanks. "Sanks, Nyanji! Yuv Myu!" He was simultaneously pleased and horrified by what had just come out of his mouth. He was happy that he was slowly beginning to regain the ability to speak, but horrified by what he said. _'Love you?'_ He berated himself, _'What the hell do you think you're saying, idiot? He can probably understand you now!'_ His eyes traveled down to his paw, trying to look away from Sanji. He could still feel Sanji's finger on his paw. The thought made him smile bashfully.

The kitten's embarrassment was evident in his features. Sanji inwardly smiled when he saw Zoro's eyes widen, his cheeks flush, and those big eyes divert away from Sanji's before a small smile broke out on the kitten's face. Sanji stared at those red cheeks and the flattened ears. He could feel an odd warmth grow more intense the longer he stared. Zoro had also began to chew on his lower lip in awkward embarrassment, revealing two of his little fangs. Apparently he still had some of that kitten cuteness in his system. Perhaps not all was lost?

Zoro was surprised when he felt Sanji's hand gently rub his head again. His eyes looked up at the blonde, but Sanji's arm was blocking the view of his face, so Zoro couldn't tell what kind expression he was making, which he found to be incredibly annoying. "Nyanji?" Sanji's hand stilled and Zoro immediately regretted opening his mouth. He furrowed his brow in worry only for a scarred thumb to run over the wrinkles, smoothing them out.

Little did the Neko-Marimo know, Sanji was smiling unabashedly at him as his arm hid his face from view. His eyes sat at half-mast and were overflowing the loving care that he'd been able to express so freely only yesterday. "Baka Marimo..." he muttered, that tint of sadness no longer apparent in his voice.

Before Zoro could react, Sanji's hand withdrew and the cook stood up, making sure to hide his face from the kitten's sharp eyes. Usopp's boots, Luffy's sandals, and Chopper's hooves could be heard running across the deck towards the trap door. Before the three boys had time enough to climb down the ladder, Sanji had already climbed back into his hammock and had shut his eyes, leading anyone to believe that nothing had happened at all.

Zoro's eyes were wide and confused before his brow furrowed again in thought. His cheeks were beginning to lose their flush by the time he was surrounded with the three youngest crew members. "Alright, Zoro," Usopp brandished his trusty screwdriver, "we're gonna get you—"

Zoro cried out in pain again; he could feel another growth spurt coming. This was the shortest amount of time, by far, that he'd experienced between growth spurts. Zoro estimated that he had about 2 or 3 minutes before his body would grow again.

"Sh-Shit! We'll get you out of there real quick, Zoro!" Usopp quickly got to work on the screws, only worrying about the four that held the top on.

"Hurry Usopp! He'll get crushed if you don't get it off!" Chopper warned, only adding more stress to the easily panicked sniper.

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

Chopper's warning had tickled a funny nerve in Sanji. He quickly sat up and turned around to see what was going on. _'Zoro...!'_ It was impossible for him not to be concerned.

"What's all this racket?" Nami called through the hole that led down into the boys' room.

"We have to save Zoro!" Luffy called, planting a seed of worry in the two women who had come to see what the ruckus was about.

"From what?" Nami asked, starting to climb down the ladder. Robin remained perched at the opening.

"He grew last night, so he's too big for the house." Chopper explained in place of Usopp, who was frantically undoing the screws as Zoro mewled in a combination of worry and discomfort. "We have to get him out quickly because we're afraid he's going through another growth spurt, and if that happens the house could wind up crushing him, or breaking a bone or two." Chopper said, with all the calmness of a doctor, but all the concern of a close nakama. His eyes were big and teary as he worried over his nakama even though his words remained professional.

"Robin!" Nami called as she leaned down to give a supportive hug to Chopper, "Looks like we won't need the 'Phase 2' outfit. Can you bring the 'Phase 3' one?"

"Sure thing, Navigator-san." Robin's shadow disappeared from above the entrance. They couldn't see her face, as it was still 3 am and, therefore, still quite dark out. She had managed to keep her worry towards Zoro well hidden behind her smile.

"Can't you go any faster, Usopp?" Luffy asked, leaning uncomfortably close over Usopp's shoulder as he continued to comfort Zoro with gentle scratching behind his ears.

"Sh!" Usopp needed complete concentration as he began to work on the final screw.

Zoro could feel that his growth spurt was near. It could happen any second now.

"Usopp," Once he realized the danger that Zoro could potentially be in, Sanji had been at the sniper's side in a flash, "you can probably rotate the top on that one screw, saving you the effort and the time of unscrewing the screw.

"Ah! You're right!" Usopp quickly pushed on the lid, rotating it with only minor difficulty and giving Zoro room enough to go through another growth spurt.

Zoro let out a pain filled cry before growing again. When he stopped growing, half of his body was spilling out of the destroyed house while his legs remained inside, bent at the knee with his knees pointing towards the ceiling. He was now about the size of a two-year-old child. His torso was now completely hairless. He still had cat's legs from the elbows and knees down. He also still had a cat tail, ears, eyes, and one would presume that his fangs were still there. He stood up and looked down at his clothes. His shorts were pulled tightly across his butt, they had shrunk into booty shorts more than anything. His shirt had ripped and was showing off his stomach and would give a teasing little glimpse of his nipples if he were to raise his arms. He almost felt like he belonged in some sort of perverted Shotacon.

Nami couldn't resist cooing at the baby-faced, itty-bitty Zoro with cat ears, tail, and paws. "You look like a chibi Nekomimi~!" She squealed, "So damn cute, I can't even handle it!" She put her hands to her cheeks as they flushed red.

Zoro stuttered a moment before crying out in protest to the obnoxious cooing. "Nyami! Lee me ayone! I nyo yike dat!"

Everyone stopped and blinked for a moment. "Well," Usopp commented, "I guess he really is going back to normal, huh...but those clothes..."

"Indeed," Robin commented, having just descended downstairs, "his clothes are no longer appropriate concerning his size. Though, it would also seem that you're able to stand again, Neko-chan." It had been several weeks since Zoro had been able to walk about like a normal human being, but now he was finally able to stand on his own two feet...er...paws. Zoro quickly looked down at his feet, but lost his balance and fell onto his forepaws, going back to all fours. His face twisted up in annoyance and he tried to stand back upright and was able to do so for a little while, but wound up falling back down to all fours. He would have to get used to standing upright again. "Well, let's get you into some more appropriate clothing, Neko-chan. Oh, I suppose I should go back to calling you 'Kenshi-san' pretty soon." She chuckled.

Nami took the clothes from Robin's hands and held them up to get a preview as to how it would look on her little, living doll. "These are going to be absolutely adorable~ They'll be a little big, but they should still work, and it'll give you room to grow too. Ok, let's get you changed, Zo-chan!"

"W-W-Wait, Nami!"

"Huh? What's the matter, Usopp?"

"W-Well, I mean, it's just that, Zoro's really lost a lot of hair recently...and he's changing back, you know..." Usopp waved his hand in a "if you catch my drift" kind of way.

Nami's brow furrowed as she thought about it a moment before her eyes widened again. "Oh! That's right! You can probably see all his junk by now."

"Please, Nami-san, to hear such coarse words fall from your lips~ It's not proper for a lady such as yourself." Sanji interrupted.

Nami sighed dramatically before looking at her hand-altered clothes sadly. "Fine then. Sanji-kun, you can change him." Nami tossed the clothes at Sanji after a moment of deliberation. She was clearly displeased with having to pass on the duty to someone else, but what else could she do? "Besides, it's still early. I want to get back to bed before I get too awake and can't go to sleep. G'night guys!" She called as she headed back up the ladder, Robin right behind her. "Good night, everyone." Robin said softly as she closed the latch, leaving the boys in silence.

Sanji looked at the clothes and then down at a bashful Zoro. He was sitting as a cat would on the floor, his fluffy tail curling around his forepaws and his head facing the floor. Sanji set his jaw as he prepared himself for the task at hand. "C'mon, Marimo, let's get you changed." Zoro looked up at Sanji with a weird look of hesitancy and embarrassment. Sanji sighed and rolled his eyes. "Look, I've seen it all before when we're in the group baths. Get over it."

"Uh, if he's really that uncomfortable with it, maybe I could do it instead, Sanji." Chopper offered.

Sanji looked at Chopper a moment too long to not have been thinking something. "Yeah, sure." He finally said after an awkwardly long pause, tossing the outfit to Chopper. "I'm going to bed. I have to get up earlier than all of you."

"OK, g'night, Sanji!" Chopper called.

"We're gonna hit the hay too, Chopper." Usopp mumbled through a yawn as he and Luffy headed back towards their hammocks. "Goodnight."

"Night, Chopper."

"Okay, goodnight." Chopper brought his attention back to Zoro. "Can you stand up, Zoro?" He said softly, not wanting to disturb the people who were trying to go back to sleep.

" _I think so."_ Zoro had never been so thankful of Chopper's ability to understand animals. Apparently, he could also understand this nyan-speak quite a bit better than the others. Zoro reared back, tottering on his back feet for a moment before he was finally able to balance on his own two feet. He couldn't help but smile at the accomplishment. _"I did it!"_ He proclaimed childishly, smiling widely with his little fangs showing and a proud flush sprouted on the apples of his cheeks.

Chopper couldn't hold back anymore and reached forward to hug Zoro. "You're so cute, Zoro~" He gushed.

"Nyooo~" he whined, "Aieee nyooo ce-uuute!" He pouted, only encouraging Chopper's behavior more.

"Well, I suppose I should get you changed." Chopper said after he was finally able to detach himself from his adorable crewmate. "I wanna go back to bed, and I'm sure you do too." Chopper switched into heavy point so he'd be able to help Zoro get changed.

"Mya!" Zoro agreed.

"Arms up!" Chopper requested and Zoro responded, throwing his paws skyward so Chopper could pull off the remains of the sailor top. In its stead, he pulled an orange poncho over his head. It had a huge hood with specialty holes in it for his ears to protrude from. Chopper pulled the hood up over Zoro's head and adjusted his ears so they were poking out through the specially made holes. Next, the blue, booty shorts were removed and white shorts were put in their place. These shorts also had a special hole for his tail to fit through. Chopper was careful to make sure he didn't pull or twist Zoro's tail at an odd angle as he pulled the shorts into place.

Zoro felt embarrassed that he was still unable to dress himself, as he still lacked the all-important thumbs that Chopper possessed while in heavy point.

"I feel like the big brother for once~" Chopper muttered excitedly as he fastened the button to Zoro's shorts before switching back to brain point. "Alright, you can probably sleep on he couch for tonight. I'll get you some blankets."

Zoro smiled at the younger crewmate and patted the front of his hat, as he couldn't reach the top of it, being as shorts as he was. "Sanks, Chyoppa."

Chopper blushed and smiled, "It's nothing, you bastard~"

 **o()o()o**

It wasn't until a couple of hours later that everyone woke up for the second time that morning. Sanji was in the kitchen preparing breakfast as people slowly trickled in one by one. Usopp and Zoro were the last ones to appear upstairs. Zoro was sitting atop Usopp's shoulders, still half asleep, with his chin resting on top of Usopp's head. He was comfortably nestled in the orange poncho, his ears sticking out form the hood. This outfit was much more comfortable than the last one, and for that he was grateful.

"Aw~ it looks so good on him~" Nami exclaimed, "you did a good job, Robin!"

"Thank you, Navigator-san."

Usopp sat down and placed Zoro in the seat next to his. "He refused to wake up this morning." He explained as he tried to get Zoro to wake up again for breakfast.

"I believe it's because of all of these growth spurts he's been going through lately. They're tiring him out." Chopper assumed as he reached for the syrup to pour over his pancakes. "It's taxing on the body to go through a normal growth spurt, but to go through such abrupt changes within such short periods of time can easily lead to extreme bouts of fatigue and is undoubtedly the reason he's so tired."

"Hmm..." Sanji hummed as he went back over to the stove.

"Sanji-kun?" Everyone followed Nami's lead ad focused in on Sanji, not wanting to miss a thing.

"It's the cook's job to make sure everyone is feeling their best." Sanji explained as he rolled his sleeves back up. "I'm just making something that'll help give him a bit more energy."

Everyone gave each other knowing glances as smiles broke out around the room. "Oh? Is that how it is..." Robin hummed, sipping at her morning coffee.

Sanji felt a chill go up his spine and turned around to see that everyone was smiling up at him. He didn't even want to ask what conclusions they had drawn amongst themselves. His eyes glanced down at Zoro. The little face was resting atop the table, tilting to the side ever so slightly. Zoro's ears were drooping ever so slightly as he slept. Sanji didn't notice it, but a smile was starting to stretch across his face and what the rest of the crew all thought to be parental love shone in Sanji's eyes. No one knew when it had happened, but they figured it was safe to assume that things were on their way back to being good again.

 **_To Be Continued..._ **


	17. You're Growing Up, Marimo-chan

After breakfast, everyone went off to go take care of his or her various duties, and Zoro, who had only awoken to eat, had fallen back into a light sleep inside of the warm kitchen. Sanji was just finishing up cleaning duties when Zoro awoke with a yawn. The green haired boy looked around the galley and saw that he was the only one there with the exception of Sanji who was drying the last of the dishes. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes with his paws, yawning another loud, squeaky yawn.

"Yo, Marimo, you finally awake?" Sanji turned around and looked at the little, green nekomimi. "You've been sleeping for a while now." Sanji shook off the final plate before drying it off and placing it on the stack. Zoro watched as Sanji carried the freshly washed stack to the cupboard and put them away. His ears involuntarily perked up when the cook turned around and began to walk towards the table Zoro was sitting at, taking a seat opposite him. He blushed a little and looked down at the wooden surface, eyes trained on a dark swirl in the grain. Sanji smiled and reached out to stroke one of the big, fluffy ears when the door slammed open. Sanji's hand snapped back to his side as he turned to see who had invaded his kitchen.

"Hey, hey, hey, Zoro!" Luffy bounded in excitedly, "Look at what Nami let us have." He brought a hand out from behind his back to reveal 2 huge rolls of yarn, one that was mustard and one that was a dark, olive green. "She said it came in a ten pack of yarn she bought and that it was too think for what she was making and said that we could have it." Luffy unwound the end of the yellow ball and dangled it in front of Zoro, trying to get him to play with it.

"Do you think he'll still want to play with yarn?" Chopper asked semi-doubtfully, looking up at Usopp.

"I dunno, he's mostly back to normal by now, so he might not." Usopp was quickly proven wrong when Zoro quickly swiped a paw at the yarn. Luffy pulled the yarn away just in the nick of time, letting Zoro's paw swipe at nothing but air when he lashed out. Deciding that the bench was too restricting, Zoro hopped down, standing on all four paws as he carefully watched the yarn's movement. Luffy swung it out so it landed near Zoro's paw. Zoro saw this as his chance grabbed at it with his two front paws, stretching out his body. Luffy managed to get it away from him yet again, just a moment before the claws could hook into the woolen string.

"Shishishi~ how funny!" Luffy laughed as he continued to tease Zoro with the string, delighted in the fact that he was playing along.

"Yes, yes, it's hilarious." Sanji said without a lick of humor in his voice as he lit up a new cigarette, jealously clawing at the back of his mind. "If you're going to play with the baka-marimo go outside and do it. I don't want you messing up my freshly cleaned kitchen."

Luffy stopped playing with the string and turned his head around to frown at Sanji, pursing his lips. "You always let Nami and Robin play with him in here when he was a kitten. Why not now?" Zoro batted at the unmoving string, trying to get Luffy to continue the game that had been brought to an abrupt halt.

Usopp and Chopper exchanged a look as a vein began to pop on Sanji's forehead. "That was when he was much smaller, and—I'm busy, now get out! I have lunch preparations!" Sanji shot up from his seat and began to kick the unwanted intruders out of his kitchen. He picked Zoro up under the arms from behind and carried him to the door. He couldn't quite bring himself to toss Zoro out of the room, so he settled for angrily placing him just outside the door like a pet that's been bad and has to be sent outside. Zoro looked back up over his shoulder only to see the door slam in his face.

His ears drooped and his eyebrows furrowed with concern. He brought his big paws up to gently scratch at the door. "Nyanji?" He perked his ears, trying to listen for any sort of sound from the other side of the door. "Nyanji!" He scratched at it again, calling out to Sanji again and again. When it was clear he wasn't going to get a response and had left sufficient scratch marks on the door, he fell back onto his butt, sitting in front of the door dejectedly. His ears dropped as he hoped that Sanji could see how sad he was to have been kicked out like that and welcome him back inside.

"Come on, Zoro. Let's go play somewhere else!" Usopp encouraged, taking the ball of dark green yarn from Luffy's hand and starting to unwind it a bit.

"Zorooo~" Luffy taunted the length of yellow yarn in front of Zoro's face and his ears instantly perked up with excitement. He whirled around and batted at the yarn, completely forgetting about his previous distress. Zoro quickly got onto all four paws and got read to pounce. Luffy skillfully dodged and led Zoro away from the kitchen and down to the main deck, pleased to see that the excitable creature was fallowing him all the way, pouncing and leaping with great enthusiasm. Zoro was regaining his dexterity, and he was discovering that the game he still referred to as "training" had gotten quite a bit easier recently. He'd even managed to catch the yellow yarn between his teeth. Luffy let go, as was tradition, and let Zoro roll around in his prize a moment, happy to see that his diversion had worked and had gotten Zoro back to his regular self.

"Zoro, Zoro! Chase me!" The doctor called out, beginning to run around the lower deck. It had been one of his and Zoro's favorite games, but, as Chopper quickly realized once Zoro had gotten untangled, the much larger neko-chan was quite a bit more competent at their game of "cat and mouse" than the teeny kitten had been. Chopper ran away from Zoro in panic, seriously fearing that the nekomimi might actually sink his claws and fangs into the poor little reindeer as Luffy and Usopp just looked on and laughed.

Sanji listened to the merriment outside the kitchen that eventually led down to the main deck from inside his kitchen. He could hear peals of delighted laughter and wanted very badly to be a part of it. So why wasn't he? Why couldn't he just go out there and be a part of everything that was going on? In all honesty, Sanji felt weird about it. He felt a little awkward getting all snuggly and cute with Zoro in front of the rest of the crew. It wasn't their intrusiveness that bothered him, though that could get a little annoying at times, but he felt that the moments shared between him and Zoro were meant to stay between him and Zoro. Perhaps it was an issue of pride, but whatever it was. Sanji just simply couldn't being himself to walk those couple feet and leave the comfort of his kitchen. Instead, he sat at the table and berated himself for being an idiot.

Once he was sure that it had quieted down, Sanji left the galley. He looked around, pleased to see that the boys had taken their game elsewhere. He slowly sauntered up the stairs and went over to Nami's tangerine grove, slipping in between the trees and disappearing from view. He eased himself down so he was laying on his back, looking up at the mostly clear blue sky, the smoke of his cigarette slowly winding upwards. He couldn't help but continue to beat himself up over everything, telling himself that he couldn't keep coming back here. This had been his and Neko-marimo's hideaway spot. A part of him really wanted Zoro to appear from between the bushes and come lie down with him, but Zoro never came, and, much sooner than he expected, Luffy's cries for lunch could be heard. _'_ _Figures..._ _'_

 **o()o()o**

It seemed like the more Sanji wanted time to slow down, the faster it went by. Before he knew it, another day was already over. The whole crew was gathered together at dinner and Zoro was sitting down by Usopp and Zoro, taking part in yet another one of their silly games. This time, the twist was to throw little morsels of food in the air and to see if Zoro could catch them before they hit the ground. They'd gotten to the point of being able to throw 3 pieces in the air and have Zoro successfully catch them all before Sanji put an end to it all.

"Enough. No more playing with the food, it's getting all over my floor." Sanji didn't even look at the pouting and booing faces he was receiving for cutting the fun short.

"C'mon Sanji, Zoro's not gonna be like this much longer. We're just trying to get the most out of it before he changes back." Usopp reasoned as he gently tossed another piece of food despite Sanji's scolding. He didn't realize how hard he had pressed into Sanji's sore spot, but Sanji made sure not to show it.

"We never really got to play with him cause you hogged him most of the month, you know? Be fair!" Luffy argued, hitting another one of Sanji's sore spots.

"You've been playing with him all day." Sanji weakly countered. "Can't you at least wait until after dinner?"

"Well you see, Cook-san, we've figured that Kenshi-san's progressions will occur around this time ever 24 hours." Robin explained, "So in approximately 72 hours, 3 days from today at about this time, he will be completely back to normal.

"Yeah," Sanji looked down at Zoro, "you don't have to tell me twice." Sanji stared at Zoro as his face twisted up in discomfort. Another growth spurt was on its way. Zoro fell to the floor and curled up, groaning as his body shook, racked with pain. He couldn't wait for all this to be over so he wouldn't have to deal with the discomfort of the fruit leaving his system anymore. He felt his arms and legs grow longer and his shoulders and chest grow wider. He felt the joints in his legs rearranging back to a more human configuration. It was the rearrangement of his bones and joints that was the most painful, by far, and he could feel everything that was happening in excruciating detail. The pain was enough to make him want to vomit, but he kept himself together. Just when he thought it was over, Zoro felt another wave overcome him and his slowed growing process sped up again, not stopping until he was about the size or a typical 13-year-old boy. This had been, by far, the greatest growth spurt of them all. It left everyone stunned to see their swordsman, who had been so tiny only a moment ago, at about the same heights as everyone's chest heights if he were to stand up from where he lay.

Zoro's face had lost a lot of the childish roundness, his features now more angular, closer to what they had originally been. His arms and legs were now completely back to normal, while his hands and feet were still slightly cat-like, halfway between paws and their normal human appearance, complete with claws. He still had the large, green ears and the long, fluffy tail. His eyes were still sharp and a fang protruded from his lip as he frowned in confusion. He flexed his hands, noting happily that he finally had fully functioning thumbs, so he no longer required the assistance of others in everyday tasks. The shorts he was wearing were quite tight, but he could still move around in them. The poncho had shrunk to that of a belly-shirt's length, but it didn't cling to him nor suffocate him as the sailor suit had.

"Kenshi-san!"

"Zoro!"

"Woah, Zoro! You're so big!"

"He grew so fast! Was it supposed to happen like that?" Everyone quickly circled around Zoro as they looked down at his newest form.

"Well," Robin mused, "it's entirely possible that the effects don't last precisely 31 days as the description says. Perhaps Kenshi-san's transformation will last only 29 or 30 days."

"It'll be 29 days tomorrow, right?" Usopp asks, studying Zoro carefully with a thoughtful hand on his chin.

"So Zoro's transformation lasted just 30 days, huh?"

"Well, we don't know that for certain, Senchou-san, but it can be estimated as such. I was sure, based on his previous growth patterns that we had at least 3 more days, but perhaps Kenshi-san's body is ridding the fruit faster than usual."

Sanji didn't like listening to this conversation. He already had such limited time and now it had been shortened again? He felt that it was all incredibly unfair.

Zoro looked around at everyone before shakily getting to his feet. He wobbled back and forth for a moment, still not used to being bipedal once more. He could tell Nami was containing her cooing and internally praised her for keeping it to herself. He didn't need the coddling anymore now that he was goin back to normal. One glance at Sanji's troubled face made him rethink that previous statement. He watched with dismay as Sanji walked out of the room, leaving the rest of the crew to admire Zoro's new form without him. The one person who he had wanted to be praised by had just left the room in a funk. His dismay was apparent to everyone as they watched his ears droop once more.

"Hey, Zoro," Luffy asked, bending over slightly so he could look Zoro in the eye, "how're you feeling?" Zoro blushed slightly as Luffy ruffled the hair between his ears.

"I-I'm fine." His voice was still higher pitched, but his speaking capabilities felt like they were nearly back to normal.

"That's great!" Luffy praised, "You'll be back to your old self in no time, huh?"

"Yeah...great..."

 **o()o()o**

The next morning, Zoro was finally able to pick up his swords again. His fingers tickled over the hilts of his katana and he could feel the excited energy run through his fingers. His swords were as excited to get back to work as he was. He took Wado Ichimonji out of her scabbard and took a look at her blade. He slid her back into place before picking up all three of them and grabbing his polishing kit and heading up to the deck where he sat himself down and began to polish his beloved swords.

It was a mixed feeling of relief and disappointment to see Zoro doing something so...so Zoro-like. Everyone already missed the kitten, but there was nothing they could do about it. Besides, even though they lost Neko-Marimo, they finally had Zoro back; mostly at least. Zoro was still incredibly apt to take an interest in many things cat-like. If someone were to dangle a bit of rope down from where they stood in the crow's nest, they could easily engage Zoro in a game. If anything, he was now just more of an adult cat than a kitten.

After lunch, Zoro was sitting perched on the railing of the ship, looking down into the water with great interest. His head would twitch every now and again, his ears flattening against his head as if he was preparing himself to pounce. Sanji was watching him very carefully from his seat on the stairs. He held a cigarette tightly between his teeth as he watched over the swordsman. His heart would give a little jump and his muscles would give the slightest twitch whenever Zoro jerked his body, afraid that the cat was going to dive in at any moment. He was pretty sure that Zoro could swim on his own now that he was almost back to being human, but he couldn't help but think back to the time when he'd had to dive into the water during a fight to fish the tiny kitten out of the water. Jus the thought alone was enough to make his heart beat a bit faster.

"Hey Zoro!" Luffy called, "What're you doing?"

Zoro startled and almost fell over, his tail waving wildly as he tried to regain his balance on the railing. He turned to look at Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper who had come over with their fishing poles and buckets. "Watchin fish..." He mumbled, almost embarrassed that he had been so enthralled by the wiggling forms beneath the surface.

"Really? Are there a lot down there?" Usopp asked excitedly as he peered into the water.

"Are you gonna help up catch some, Zoro?" Chopper was clearly hoping that the swordsman would take part in one of their favorite bonding activities.

"Er...I guess..." His attention was quickly brought back to the water as a particularly large specimen lazily floated by. Zoro couldn't let this prime opportunity go to waste.

It had been only a couple seconds; blink and you would've missed it. But it was during that tiny blip of time that Sanji had looked towards the sky as he released a waft of smoke that Zoro had decided to finally pounce.

Chopper had been the first to notice Zoro's strange behavior. The tightening of his hind legs as he lowered into a crouch on the railing. That wiggle of the hips as his back claws found purchase in the wood. Zoro's unwavering, unblinking stare as he remained trained on the one spot on what Chopper had presumed to be the water's surface. It was only when Zoro's face grew intense, eyes shining with the instincts of a predator in the midst of the most important part of the hunt: going in for the kill.

Chopper had tried to call out, to tell Luffy to grab onto the swordsman, but Zoro was beneath the water before he could even finish saying Luffy's name. Sanji startled up onto his feet at the sound of a splash. He sat up and saw Usopp dive into the water after the swordsman, a surprisingly brave thing for the timid sniper to do. Sanji ran up next to Chopper and asked him what was going on. Chopper finished explaining what he thought had happened just as the duo broke the surface. Zoro, despite being the one who had jumped in, looked incredibly frazzled. Sanji was able to calm down considerably as Usopp made his way up the rope ladder with Zoro on his back. Sanji slipped away to the bathroom and returned as the two waterlogged straw hats were wringing out their clothes. Zoro had been given a pair of brown cargo shorts, a red, long-sleeved shirt, and a black, short-sleeved, button down over shirt. He was without either of his two new shirts when Sanji returned with the towel.

Zoro looked up at him with an embarrassed frown. "It got away..." He mumbled, ears drooped and dripping.

Sanji didn't know what made it so funny, but Zoro's simple, 3 word confession ignited something deep within Sanji and he couldn't help the bubble of laughter that erupted from his smiling mouth. The fishing trio were silent a moment before Sanji's laughter spread over them, creating a roll of thunderous laughter that could be heard all over the ship. Sanji walked over to the short swordsman and threw a towel over his head, drying off the green hair and the sensitive ears, trying his hardest not to burst out into gut-wrenching laughter. He pulled the towel down so it was draped around Zoro's shoulders. Sanji felt an inexplicable emotion well up when he saw the poof of marimo hair the towel left behind. He leaned down and gently knocked their foreheads together, reaching up with his hand to scratch behind Zoro's ear. "My baka Marimo..."

 **_To Be Continued..._ **


	18. It's Just 30 Days

Zoro was sitting at the table in the galley as he watched Sanji getting ingredients out for dinner. He let his tail wave back and forth, the tip of it just barely brushing against the floor. Even though his eyes were trained on the striped fabric of Sanji's button down, his mind was elsewhere. He couldn't help but replay the events that occurred earlier that afternoon in his head over and over again. While he was pleased that Sanji had finally quit straddling the fence, he was still slightly confused by it. After he had been pulled out of the ocean, despite the fact that he could probably have swum to the surface on his own, Sanji had suddenly gone back to what had been normal for the past month. The only thing Zoro didn't understand was _why._ He rewound his mental video tape and replayed the events in his head once again...

 **o()o()o**

"My baka Marimo..." Sanji said, reaching up and scratching behind Zoro's ears. Despite himself, Zoro could feel that he was starting to purr once again. He smiled and tilted his head, encouraging Sanji's hand to continue. He felt his feet move in closer and the warmth of Sanji's body was soon spreading all over his own. It wasn't until Sanji placed his free hand on his shoulder that he realized he'd stepped into Sanji's arms and had wordlessly invited the blonde to embrace him. Zoro's eyes flew open and he pulled away ever so slightly, horribly embarrassed by how easily he was overcome by Sanji's gentle touch. He looked back over his shoulder and saw that Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy were all fully focused on reeling in a fish that one of them had caught.

It took him a moment, but Zoro eventually looked back up at Sanji. He was still quite a bit shorter than the blonde cook, a bit shy of shoulder height, and he had to tilt his face up to look him in the eye. There was something about the way that Sanji stared down at him that made his face flush, his ears flatten, and his tail puff up. The way his eyes stood at only half-mast and that lazy smile with the cigarette hanging limply in the corner made something bubble up in Zoro's chest. Sanji's eyes shone with the love that'd always been present back when he was a kitten.

Sanji leaned down so he was at eye level with Zoro, his hand still gently rubbing back and forth across the expanse of green. "I should go take care of Nami-san's mikan trees, shouldn't I?" He smiled enigmatically before standing up straight and dropping his hand to his side. Zoro watched as Sanji sauntered away, walking up the stairs and disappearing behind the dark green leaves of the mikan trees. Zoro turned his head to look back at the fishing trio, who had to quickly whip their heads back around so they wouldn't be caught staring. Luckily, Zoro didn't see anything and just slinked off to follow Sanji as silently as he could, thinking he'd gone unnoticed by everyone there.

Zoro actually sat outside the trees a moment, contemplating whether or not he should part their branches and pester Sanji for attention. Perhaps he really had gone to take care of Nami's trees. Should he wait until he was done? Or did Sanji mean for him to follow? Had he always had this many internal debates before the transformation? After another couple minutes, Zoro decided that interrupting Sanji now and getting kicked out would be better than just sitting out here and going back and forth forever...or was it?

Sanji's head poked out from the branches, surprising Zoro back onto all fours. "Just get in here, Marimo." The blonde head, once it delivered its message, disappeared back inside. Zoro slowly crawled forward, his head being the first thing to appear on the other side of the branches. Sanji was sitting in the middle with his legs spread, the weight of his upper body leaning back on his arms. He shifted so he could use one arm to beckon the swordsman over to him.

Zoro, still on all fours, slowly crept over to Sanji and sat between his legs, not looking the man in the eye. Sanji threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled Zoro closer, burying his face into the green hair and letting out a long sigh. "I couldn't do it." Sanji lifted his head so his chin was comfortably nestled between the two big ears. He began to run his hand up and down Zoro's back. "I couldn't fight it anymore."

Zoro's head was nestled against Sanji's chest, his hands clinging to the fabric of Sanji's shirt as the pale arm enveloped him and held him tight. "You fought it?" He asked, not completely understanding.

Sanji shifted a bit so he wouldn't have to use an arm to support himself and brought it up to card through Zoro's hair. "I tried, but you got me to love the stupid, annoying, and absurdly adorable marimo head that you are. I didn't want to have to deal with those feelings if you were gonna turn back and forget everything that had happened."

"But I didn't forget." Zoro reminded, as if Sanji had been the one who'd forgotten.

"It's complicated, Zoro."

"...Oh." Zoro didn't really have anything else to ask or anything else he wanted to know. How Sanji was acting in the past had nothing to do with the way he was acting now. Now was all that mattered, and now was when Sanji's incredibly dexterous fingers had begun to scratch his hips. Zoro felt his tail curl up in pleasure as his purring begin again, a wide smile stretching across his face, showing off his two glistening fangs. He'd always loved the way that felt, and combined with the scratching behind the ears and the warmth of Sanji's body and the beating of the blonde man's heart made Zoro feel like absolutely everything was right again and that nothing bad would happen anymore. He almost couldn't help himself when he let out a contented "Nyaa~" He instantly stopped purring and began to pull away, trying to hide his completely reddened face at his little slip of the tongue.

Sanji chuckled and pulled Zoro in as close as he could, giving the nekomimi a kiss on the top of his head. "Baka Neko-Marimo..."

 **o()o()o**

The sizzle of the frying pan brought Zoro out of his musings and back to the present. He lifted his head off the table and sat up straight, trying to see what it was exactly that Sanji was doing. His nose twitched with the smell of fresh fish and his mouth instantly started watering. "Sanji?" He called.

"Hm?" Sanji never looked up from his work and just waited for Zoro to finish voicing his question.

"Uh...what's that?"

Sanji smiled around his cigarette. "It's the salmon I'm preparing for dinner." He turned enough so he could see the way Zoro stared at the fish on the cutting board, smiling at how the food seemed to attract the cat part of Zoro's brain like a magnet. "Would you like a piece?"

Zoro couldn't nod fast enough and was over by Sanji in a second, sitting patiently on the floor and looking up at the cook as he waited for the tasty morsel with bated breath. Sanji couldn't possibly let this opportunity go to waste. Here Zoro was, sitting at his feet and looking up at him with those huge, shining orbs. He cut off a part of the bright pink meat and dipped it in soy sauce and wrapped it around a garnish of ginger before tossing it down to the patiently awaiting swordsman. "There you go." Zoro caught the delicious tidbit and munched on it happily, transporting Sanji back to the very beginning of the whole transformation episode. But as he was reminded of how things used to be, he no longer felt sad about those times being almost over. Instead, he looked forward to what was to come.

Sanji crouched down so he was at Zoro's level and reached out a hand to stroke underneath Zoro's chin. What he didn't expect was that when he began to withdraw his hand, Zoro followed it, allowing himself to be drawn in. So little resistance; how could Sanji refuse? It was when Zoro's trembling, blushing face was only inches from Sanji's that he realized what he was doing. He looked into Zoro's face and saw that of a child at least 6 years younger than himself. He diverted the path of his lips so they pecked Zoro gently on the cheek. He smiled another one of those mysterious smiles before standing up and going back to cooking, leaving Zoro sitting confused on the floor, completely unaware of the other Straw Hats that had wandered in for lunch.

 **o()o()o**

Zoro's transformation was early today, at about halfway through lunch. He was back to his normal size, but those damn, ears and tail refused to disappear. Zoro, however, still didn't feel that he was completely back to normal. He still felt those inexplicable surges of incredible interest when something pounce-able skittered by. Though after one particularly embarrassing episode where he chased after a length of rope and even rolled around in it, getting himself tangled up in it even while being in his full human sized form, he vowed to try and control the urges. However, there was one particular surge of energy that just couldn't be ignored.

It was after dinner, and Sanji was delivering an after dinner drink to the ladies. He'd get around to the men, but they all knew the drill and waited for him to finish swooning, all except Luffy anyways. Zoro was hiding in the mikan bushes where he was sure he'd be able to safely avoid his nakama's teasing. When he heard Sanji's voice he peeked out and saw that he'd come up to the upper deck to deliver a drink to Robin, who was lounging in her deck chair reading.

Zoro didn't know why, but he felt his predator instincts acting up. Instead of simply peeking, he was spying, stalking his prey. He brought his legs up so they were bent and ready to launch him forward. His eyes were trained on his target as his hips wiggled and his tail twitched. His ears were flat against his head to help avoid detection. He waited until his target was within pouncing distance before leaping out from the bushes and attacking.

Sanji had little time to react when a fully-grown Zoro pounced him from behind the bushes. His first reaction was to kick the offender away, but when he noticed what was attacking him, that plan quickly flew out the window. Sanji figured, within the half second he had to decide, that just riding out the attack and icing whatever it was that hurt later would be the best way to go. He felt Zoro's hands connect with his shoulders, knocking him off balance almost instantly. Sanji made sure the tray wouldn't be beneath him when he landed and extended that arm as he practically face-planted on the hard wood of the deck.

Zoro, the satisfied hunter, had his hands on Sanji's back and his legs on either side of Sanji. He couldn't resist taking a lock of Sanji's hair between his teeth and chewing playfully. Sanji wasn't complaining about the attention he was receiving. Zoro had often pounced him when he was smaller, but as they were, Sanji found the situation more painful than adorable as he had in the past.

"Oi, Zoro." Sanji wheezed as Zoro's weight compressed his ribs.

Instantly getting the message, Zoro crawled off Sanji and got up on his feet, face flushed in horrible embarrassment, running away from Sanji and down into the boys' room. Sanji went down after him once he'd finished distributing the remaining drinks and found Zoro curled up on the couch.

"Zoro?"

Zoro sat up and let Sanji sit down next to him. Before Sanji could even say anything, Zoro spilled. "I'm sorry." He began, "I don't know...why I did that..."

"Well, you used to do it all the time." Sanji reasoned, not understanding why Zoor seemed so upset.

"But...I felt like a hunter going in for the kill." Zoro explained, his voice nearly dead pan. Sanji didn't know how he felt about being the prey, so he let Zoro finish instead. "I felt the urge to do it...So, I did it."

"...Ah...I see..." Sanji blinked a moment before reaching up a hand to ruffle Zoro's head. "You're a piece of work, you know that?"

"I am not!" Zoro argued, "You've always said I was simple."

"First of all, that's not a compliment." Sanji smirked, "And yes, you are simple, but you're also insanely difficult. You do whatever the hell you please whenever the hell you please." Zoro held no retort. "You may be a piece of work, but I think I've got it down." He smiled and ran a hand along Zoro's tail, watching it fluff up as he did so. When he reached the end of the tail, he held down the end tuft of fur, watching as Zoro twitched his tail about, trying to free it. "Yes, I believe 'simple' describes you rather well." He chuckled at Zoro's reproachful look before letting go.

Zoro looked over at Sanji's shining face. Well, to Zoro it was shining. It was the happiest he'd seen the cook in days and for that he was happy. He leaned over and gave Sanji's cheek a gentle lick, just like he always used to, his ears laying back lovingly. Sanji stopped laughing and looked over at Zoro with wide, slightly surprised eyes.

"Z-Zoro?"

"Thank you...for uh...taking care of me." Zoro's gaze diverted to his lap as he blushed shyly.

Sanji smiled his loving smile and ran his fingers through that green hair, gently turning Zoro's head so he was no longer looking away. He stared a moment before leaning in and finally closing the gap between the two of them. Their lips seemed to melt together, moving together ever so slightly. Sanji pulled away only a fraction of an inch before tilting his head and leaning in to place his lips over Zoro's once more. He could feel the way they meshed together, the way Zoro leaned into it as their lips slowly gyrated against each other's.

Sanji braved a daring little lick of Zoro's bottom lip, tasting the swordsman's lips for the first time. He poked his tongue out again and ran it along the crease of Zoro's lips, hoping that they would part as his had. Sanji's other hand went to right above Zoro's tail so he could pull the man closer, his other hand still gently stroking the silky ears.

Zoro shivered when he felt Sanji's hand tickle the fur on his tail and let a barely there moan escape his lips. He felt Sanji's warm tongue press against his lips, trying to get them to part. He slowly let them open, the tip of his tongue shyly peeking out. He could feel the soft warmth of Sanji's tongue glide across his own, tasting the curry from dinner mixed with the nicotine of a recently smoked cigarette. It wasn't the most amazing flavor in the world, but it was all Sanji, and that was enough for Zoro to never want to break away.

Sadly, Sanji felt that it was time to end their kiss, and pulled away after giving a couple loving nips to the pretty pink lips. They were both breathless as Sanji mumbled, "It was nothing."

 **o()o()o**

Sanji was sad to see those adorable ears and tail vanish the next morning, but it was to be expected. Only an hour or so before Zoro's final transformation back into a full-fledged human, the ship had docked at an island. Zoro and Sanji were walking around town, enjoying a little bit of alone time together, as they'd had almost none the past week or so. They couldn't hold hands in public, but the seemingly casual brushes of hands said it all.

The pair eventually came across a semi-shady looking vendor at the end of the market. The fruit itself looked fresh and of prime quality, but Sanji had never seen them before.

"I'm supposing that these are rather rare." Sanji inquired, taking a closer look at the fruit for sale.

' _I_ _feel_ _like_ _I_ _'_ _ve...no...I_ _don_ _'_ _t_ _think_ _I_ _'_ _ve_ _seen_ _those...or_ _maybe...maybe_ _not..._ _'_ Zoro stared at the fruit, wondering why his brain was telling him it was so familiar. He'd eaten a lot of weird shit, how were these any different. He just wanted to get back to the ship; enough shopping was enough after several hours.

Sanji picked up the fruit in one hand and guessed its weight. _'_ _They_ _'_ _re_ _like_ _nothing_ _I_ _'_ _ve_ _ever_ _seen...the_ _smell_ _isn_ _'_ _t_ _the_ _greatest,_ _but_ _that_ _could_ _just_ _be_ _the_ _rind..._ _'_ "Would it be alright if I sampled this?" Sanji asked.

The vender smiled broadly. "Its best to be eaten in one bite. And keep in mind: you eat it, you have to buy it." The vendor flashed a blade to punctuate his point.

"Yes, yes, I'm well aware." Sanji mumbled as he took another sniff at the fruit. It was about he size of a Clementine; how the hell was it only one bite? Sanji looked at Zoro and noticed that the swordsman held a great interest in the fruit he was holding and Sanji couldn't help but wonder why. "What's up?"

"I feel like I've seen those before..." Zoro mumbled, brow furrowing.

"Oh? Is it good?"

Unable to remember if he liked it or not, Zoro grunted an affirmative.

"Alright, I'm trusting you..." Sanji opened his mouth wide and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth, frowning as the bitter taste of the rind coated his mouth. He chewed a moment and almost instantly tasted something foul. Forcing himself to swallow, Sanji blanched and tried everything not to throw up the fruit. "Ugh...that was...vile..." He looked over at Zoro, feeling almost betrayed.

"Well, it'll most certainly be worth it...that's 10000 Belli." Sanji was horrified at the price of something so disgusting being so highly priced and turned around to yell and the imbecilic salesman when he felt an odd rumbling in his stomach.

"Ah! I remember!" Zoro said, as if he hadn't taken any notice to what was going on around him. "These look just like that fake devil's fruit I ate that one time..."

Sanji paled and turned on the street vendor. "Why the _hell_ did you not tell me what you were selling?" He shouted, drawing in the attention of surrounding people.

The vendor pulled his hood over his head, hiding his face. "Sh! Do you want the Marine's finding out?"

"I'm not gonna pay you for this bullshit fruit! I'm gonna kick your god damn ARF!" Sanji's blood went cold at the foreign sound that came out of his mouth. He looked over at Zoro with horror etched into his face.

"Don't worry," Zoro comforted as two big, floppy ears began sprouting out of Sanji's head, "it's just 30 days."

 **The End**

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Всего 30 дней](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8470705) by [MsFruehling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsFruehling/pseuds/MsFruehling)




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